


Ghosts and Faded Dreams

by Selaxes, SophieRipley



Series: It Takes Three [2]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealousy, Making Love, Multi, Multiple Partners, Old Friends, Old Love Interests, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-10-22 22:18:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 58,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10706286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selaxes/pseuds/Selaxes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRipley/pseuds/SophieRipley
Summary: Skylar Toklo, asset of the ZIA, returns to Zootopia after years of imprisonment by enemy forces.  She searches for her old friend and deepest crush Nick Wilde, only to find he's changed since she's been gone, and has become engaged to another woman.





	1. Explosive Returns

Skylar Toklo stepped off the bus in Savannah Central, and shivered when the heat washed over her. She knew it would be hot—she grew up here, after all—but despite her expectation the heat nonetheless made her breath catch in her throat and her ears pin back. It was a reminder of things she knew she could never forget but desperately wanted to. She shook her head and took a steadying breath, then rolled her right shoulder a bit to work out the stiffness. It didn't hurt anymore, hadn't really for a week, but the stiffness would remain for some time. She slung her backpack over her left shoulder and started walking.  
  
Skye had always struggled with the heat. As an arctic fox she was built for the cold. The heat of Savannah Central, then, had always proven to be oppressive to her. As a child she could do little about it: her parents lived here and wouldn't move to Tundratown, so she made do by shaving her fur short and getting it thinned. Today, however, she had the full length and thickness of her fur to smother her like a parka in the summer. She was less bothered by it than she would have been six years ago, however: she'd been living in a place warmer than this since the last time she left her home city-state six years ago. The oppressive heat, which caused a light pant and an irritating itch all over her body, caused certain discomfort but was pushed to the back of her mind with very little effort. She only made note of it in the first place because she'd spent time in an air-conditioned hospital and the difference between that and Savannah Central's open air was stark.  
  
As Skye walked along the sidewalk, dodging large mammals and sidestepping small ones as if she'd always been there, she couldn't help but to reflect on how alien Zootopia seemed to her now. When she first became an asset to the ZIA and left home on extended missions, she'd always returned to find the sedate chaos and relative cleanliness of the city feeling like home. Now that she'd been gone for so long and been through so much while away, the tall buildings of various grades of stone and steel and wood were strange to her. The mammals of all species, prey and predator alike, striding along the streets as if unafraid, without a care, was strange. There was no rubble to step around, no soldier patrols to hide from. No captors to jerk the leash and choke her when she wasn't moving fast enough on broken and bloody feet, or beat her for escaping.  
  
The city was alien to her now, but that didn't stop her from searching for him in all his old haunts. It had been six years since last they spoke, and she longed to see her oldest friend. Just catching a glimpse of his rust-colored tail or a flash of those bright green eyes he smoldered with so well would make everything she went through worth it. And she knew where he stayed, the places he went to sleep, to do business, to be alone. She checked them all. The corner down the street from the bank where he sold his popsicles was empty of fox and cart, no sign anyone had ever stood there. The yak at the Mystic Springs Oasis claimed he hadn't been there in months, and the waitresses at Timothy Brendon's Twenty-Four Hour Pie Peddler said he'd been absent for longer than that.  
  
That was when Skye began to worry: Nicholas Wilde was a lady's tod and had never failed to go to that diner during the weekend to flirt. Skye went with sometimes, when she was in town; not because she wanted to flirt or because she particularly liked the menu, but because she was jealous and wanted to see what kind of vixens caught his eye. Fortunately for her it was only ever light-hearted, never serious and never really acted upon. She knew even back then, even when they were both still in their early twenties, that Nick would never seriously ask out another vixen. He'd been through too much heartbreak in his young life, been betrayed too many times. She'd always been there for him, but there was only so much a friend could do. So she supported him, and let him do his looking. One day, she knew, he'd grow up; one day, he'd eschew the mask he'd wore for so long, walk away from his legally-adjacent lifestyle, and become the upstanding fox she knew he could be. She'd always been certain he would do that, and when that day came she would….  
  
But they were the daydreams of a young vixen blinded by love. Nick had never outgrown the mask, had never stopped breaking the spirit of the law, had never set aside his career swindling mammals. He was her oldest, truest, closest friend; he was the anchor that had held her firm in her worst moments; he was her shattered heart, taped back together and broken again every time she'd come back home to find him still hustling. His smug and sarcastic grin would piece it together again, but it would never be whole. She'd met many mammals in her life, from all over the world. None made her more aware of her physicality than he did. None made her more happy. Even if she refused to date him for what he'd made a living doing, she would never fail to seek him out when she came home.  
  
And so she continued to search. She found the tunnel under the bridge on Banyon Street barren even of the old rusted barrel where illegal fires used to be lit, and the perch high in the canopy of the Rainforest District empty of parasol and deck chair, no slick charming fox waiting for her. Even his apartment was empty, vacancy sign hung on the door with a hand-scrawled phone number to call for inquiries. Seeing that sign was like a kick to the gut. Skye was certain he'd never leave that dank dripping apartment of his own free will, which meant he was in prison…or dead. Would there be a record of his death? Would anyone have cared that a red fox lay dying in the gutter? Or would he simply have disappeared, the only one to wonder or care where he'd gone sitting in that lonely apartment in Tranquility Lane? Mrs. Wilde would know where her son was, had always known, but the woman hated Skylar with every fiber of her being.  
  
So Skye went to the police. She had to go to the ZPD anyway to file some paperwork, so it ended up not being out of her way. She walked there, and arrived only minutes before the evening shift change. It was much like she remembered it, though the cheetah at the reception desk had lost some weight since last she'd been here. She saw no recognition on his face when he looked up, but that was okay. They had never been friends, and had only interacted professionally a few times.  
  
"Good evening," said Skye in her soft voice, setting her bag down when she reached the desk. "I need to have my concealed carry permit verified, and register as a martial artist. I was employed by the government until recently so it should all be in the system already."

  
"Sure," replied the portly feline with a tone of genuine pleasure. "I just need your name and your government ID."  
  
"Skylar Carrie Toklo. Skylar with an 'a'." Skye dug the ZIA identification card out of her bag and handed it over. She'd never been an actual ZIA Officer, but as an agent—or asset, as the agency preferred—she had certain rights and privileges that went along with ZIA employment anyway, such as government ID.  
  
The cheetah took her card and pecked at his computer merrily for a moment, then looked over what came up for another couple moments. Then he nodded and started printing pages. "Mmhm, everything's here. It was all sent over this morning by an Officer J. Savage, I guess he's your handler? We see his name on a lot of ZIA-filed work here at Precinct One. I just need you to sign these paper copies and we'll be great. Your Agency ID will stand in for your permits proper until it expires, and after that you just need to come on back and we'll get you taken care of. Any questions?"

Skye shook her head as she took the pages and signed them. She handed them back, then hesitated a little. "Actually…I was hoping to inquire about someone, an old friend of mine. I looked for him when I got back today and couldn't find him, his apartment is empty, and…well, I'm afraid something might have happened to him. I'm hoping he's just locked up or something. Is there any way I can get you to look him up for me?"  
  
Clawhauser regarded her for a few seconds, then nodded as a small group of officers came through the lobby chatting with each other, heading out the door. "Mmhm, sure. I'm not really supposed to, but if anyone asks I'll just tell them an agent asked. What's his name and species?"  
Skye cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak when a voice came ringing across the lobby from the group of officers.  
  
"Skye? _Skylar Toklo_?"

 

* * *

 

“So, Nick steps in,” Judy was telling the other officers that walked with them after patrol debriefing, “and tells her, ‘Ma’am, I know you want to strangle him. I would, too, if I caught my significant other in hips deep with my sister, but killing him is against the law and I’ll have to tranq you and take you in. _However_ …there is no law against shaving all of his fur off!’” Judy wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scowl at her partner or laugh at how he’d prevented a major crime from being perpetrated, but truly couldn’t hide her amusement at the results of the furless cheater. In her mind the raccoon had deserved everything he got and would be reminded of his foible for the next year, and then some, as his tail fur grew back.

The others chuckled at the outcome as they passed from the hallway that let out from the Authorized Personnel section of the ZPD’s Precinct One into the main foyer. Judy finally relented and let a smile pull at her muzzle while she shook her head.

“I still think it could have been handled better,” the grey furred doe added.

Nick assumed his smarmiest grin. “C’mon, Carrots. We prevented a killing and got to see a little _justice_ done. What’s there to not consider that a win?” The fox was waiting for an answer when he noticed a flash of white fur at the counter of Clawhauser’s desk at the reception area and tilted his head quizzically. It was a common reaction that he’d had for a long time, white fur always causing his chest to tighten a little at the thoughts of the childhood friend that had never come home. Even after all the years that had passed since his friend had vanished, there were times that a glimpse of snowy white fur would cause his gut to clench.

So distracted was the fox that he missed the next thing that Judy said, the bunny picking up on the sudden change from her partner. One ear drooped a touch in mild concern peppered with confusion at the shift in Nick’s demeanor and she waved absently at their fellow officers as she followed the fox towards Benji’s desk instead of the doors. The group they’d been walking with had also picked up on the shift in the fox’s behavior, something about it making them uncomfortable.

As she skipped a step to catch up to Nick, Judy actually heard the fox’s catching of breath and picked up the change in his scent, something between excitement and…fear. The last part was the most disturbing as Nick was quite adept at hiding it when he was afraid or nervous, something that was actually helping her partner for serious consideration of being booted up to an investigative squad. When Nick stopped suddenly, the fur of his tail bristling in shock, Judy almost ran into him.

It was enough to make her own nose twitch with the uncertainty of what was causing her partner to act so uncharacteristically. That he was also her fiancée only added to her confusion, concern and worry.

“Nick?” the bunny asked softly, her paw reaching out to touch his in an automatic gesture.

If the fox heard her, he didn’t, or _couldn’t_ , acknowledge her in the throes of whatever was causing his distress, and with the manner his ears were pinned to his skull and his tail was held rigidly off the floor and puffed out, that was exactly what he was experiencing.

“Skye? _Skylar Toklo_?” the red fox exclaimed in a breathless voice.

Despite the almost whisper, the arctic fox jerked slightly and whipped her head to look at Nick. Judy glanced at both, first the white furred vixen, then to Nick. Both had nearly identical expressions. Disbelief vied with shock and… _something_ else, something that caused a ball of ice to instantly form in the bunny’s gut. As this was happening the scent of fear and the sharp tang of what Judy had come to associate with anger came from her partner.

Before anyone could truly react, both vulpines obviously familiar with each other, Nick turned slightly and stormed off to the revolving door that dominated the center of the glass and steel wall of the front of the precinct building. He hit it so hard that the device did a full rotation and a half before stopping. Her confusion turning to worry, Judy spun her head from the door to the white furred vixen, a small part of her mind that was always on ‘cop-mode’ noting that she also gave off a scent of distress similar to Nick’s and her body language melted from hopeful surprise to miserable, like ice vanishing in the dry heat of Sahara Square.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Judy leapt forward after Nick, wanting, needing to know what had just happened. Unfortunately as she pushed past the triangular chamber of the revolving door and scanned the immediate area and plaza of the precinct grounds, Nick was no where to be seen.

Her nerves suddenly feeling raw and a sense of dread pulling at her insides, Judy began to range around the plaza and park on the other side of the thoroughfare. After three years of working with Nicholas Wilde, then dating him, then their engagement, Judy thought that she knew her fox. The reaction of seeing the vixen had started something, though, something that frightened the bunny. But even stronger than that was the need to be there for her fox, whatever it was that was eating at him.

After all, that’s what you did for the ones you loved, wasn’t it?

After trying all of the places that Nick went to after a hard day, the diner they sometimes had supper at, the bar that was quiet that the couple occasionally sought systemic therapy at after a particularly rough case, Judy began to grow frantic. Nick wasn’t at any of them, nor was he answering his phone when she dialed or sent a text.

On a lark, Judy decided to check their apartment that they shared, both giving up the less than stellar accommodations that they’d had before becoming partners on the ZPD, and from there a couple. Out of all the time together, the close scrapes, the danger and the tender moments, she’d never seen her affianced behave like he had at encountering the arctic vixen. For a moment she was tempted to run back to the precinct and find out just who the white furred fox was and why she’d all but freaked Nick out before realizing the other vulpine was most likely long gone.

As she let herself into her and Nick’s apartment, she heard activity and let the door shut, darting into the area that was screened off from the rest of the studio where she and Nick had a bench and free weights. It was a good place to workout when the weather was inclement, and there was something to be said about nude weightlifting with the mammal you loved. As she stepped around the screen with a replica of an Oriental silk painting picked up at Pawkea, Judy found her lover stripped down and wearing a pair of gym shorts as he ran through a series of reps with the weights like a mammal possessed. She could already see his arms and shoulders trembling as he pushed himself hard, but his grunts as he forced his arms out and up sounded more like whimpers and…and sobs.

“Nick?” the bunny said softly.

There was no indication that he heard her, forcing an even faster pace.

“Nick, honey? Talk to me,” Judy prodded gently, moving so that she wasn’t talking to his back.

The bunny couldn’t help but gasp in dismay as she came around and looked at her fox fiancée, her paws going to her muzzle as her heart went out to him. His face was a rictus of agony, though it wasn’t physical, or at least mostly, and the fur beneath his eyes was slicked and darkened with tears.

“Nick?” Judy said again in a tremulous voice.

When he dropped the weights with a clatter it caused Judy to jump, though before he could collapse, she was there to support him, her arms going as far around his chest as she could reach. It broke her heart to feel the silent sobs that wracked him and when he was able to lift his exhausted arms to hold her back it was all she could do not to cry herself.

Despite the love and empathy she tried to push into Nick, there was a part of her that was terrified by this very uncharacteristic behavior.

 

* * *

 

Nick stalked off in a fury, and the relief and surprise in Skye quickly curdled into pain and sadness and even a little anger of her own, all of which sat in the pit of her stomach like a knot of lead, causing acid to churn and her heart to sink into her feet.  The other officers Nick had come into the room with stared for a moment, then kept walking, while the rabbit officer (who thought that was a good idea?  Was that even legal?) looked between Skye and the door where Nick disappeared with an expression Skye read as confusion, hurt, police-standard openness to detail, and the good old-fashioned up-and-down glance of a woman sizing up another woman.  Then she turned on her heel and fled the ZPD, presumably pursuing the fox.  Skye stared after her for a long moment before shaking her head and turning back to Clawhauser.

“I…” started Skye.  Her words caught in her throat as her emotions threatened to overcome her and she took a deep, steadying breath as the feline looked down at her with an expression of confused concern.  “I’m sorry.  That was…how long has Nick been on the Force?”

Clawhauser looked up at the door, then back down at Skye with a frown.  “Around three years, now.  He joined after the Night Howler Crisis, Officer Hopps convinced him to.”

Skye frowned.  “Hopps?  The _rabbit_?  I’ve been…away for awhile, pretend I don’t know anything that’s happened in the last decade.”

Clawhauser sighed and adjusted his seat.  “Five years ago, Mayor Lionheart put through this initiative that let smaller mammals join the ZPD.  Judy Hopps was the first graduate.  She solved a very high profile case over the next few months with Nick Wilde’s help, and managed to prove herself as one of the best officers in the city.  She convinced Wilde to join the ZPD; they work together now, they’re partners.  Don’t tell anyone but Nick’s actually in line for a promotion soon, if he plays his cards right.”

“He’s a _cop_ ,” said Skye.  There was a sense of pride in her, but tempered by the continuing misery from the utter disaster of a first meeting.  She looked back over to Clawhauser as she picked up her bag and slung it.  “Thanks for your help, officer.  I was going to ask about Nick, we’re very old friends.  I don’t suppose you could tell me where he lives?”

Clawhauser hesitated, a conflicted expression crossing his pudgy face.  “He…didn’t seem too happy to see you.”

Skye shook her head.  “No.  I should’ve expected it.  I’ve been gone for a very long time.  When I left, I told him I’d be back in a month.  That was six years ago.”

Understanding flooded Clawhauser’s face.  “Ohhhh.  Yeah, good luck on that one.  You’ll need it.  Here, this is his address.  Don’t tell anyone I gave it to you?”

Skye shot him a smile she didn’t really feel as she took the slip of paper from him.  “Tell anyone you gave me what?”  She pocketed the address and walked out of the building back into the heat.  Once she reached the sidewalk, she stopped and looked up to the sky.  It would be dark soon.  She hadn’t eaten since she left the hospital the previous afternoon, but she had nothing to purchase food with.  The emptiness in her stomach didn’t help the feeling of hopelessness Nick’s anger had given her.  He was a cop now, but he’d never handled intense anger well.  Without someone there to help him manage it, who would he hurt?  Himself certainly, but how many others by accident?  Would that bunny find him?

If she did, would she survive?  She worried for her friend, and she worried for the little bunny who went after him. 

Skye looked around her after some minutes, coming to the realization that there were mammals stepping around her and grumbling about her being in the way.  With a shake of the head, she started walking, thinking of the address she’d been given and remembering where it was and how to get there.  Since she was on foot, and since she had to backtrack and find her way as she went, it was well after dark by the time she found the building.  It was a moderately well-built place that looked—at least from the outside—like three steps above the squalor he had been living in before.  It wasn’t so high-end, however, that it was accessible only by key, so Skye stepped into the lobby, consulted the building map to find the apartment number, and then took the elevator to the appropriate floor. 

Her plan was to pound on the door until he let her in or she knocked it down, whichever came first, but as she approached the plain wooden door she reconsidered.  He was likely still angry, probably still dangerous, and Skye herself wasn’t exactly stable at the moment either.  Meeting again right now was a bad idea.  She sat down against the wall next to the door, pulled a notebook and pen from her backpack, and scrawled a note.  Then, she knocked firmly on the door, left the note balanced on the door knob, and left. 

She made her way back to the Rainforest district and up the many-tiered canopy, dodging mammals as and when she saw them.  By the time she got to the place, she was soaked.  Her backpack’s contents would be fine—it was a water-sealed bag, after all—but she was cold and wet and hungry.  The shack was there, where it had always been.  Originally it had been a bungalow for larger rodents, or perhaps squirrels, but it was abandoned when she and Nick found it nestled behind a screen of vines.  Large enough to comfortably hold two foxes and little else, it was a frequent retreat after they found it.  Still it stood, looking every bit as shoddy as it had so many years ago. 

Skye crawled inside and dropped her bag to one side, then stripped out of her clothes, laying them out to dry.  She did her best without a towel to dry her fur, but mostly ended up making it stick out all over the place, clumped and matted with rain.  Finally, she dug out a bottle from her bag and filled it with runoff outside the window, most of which she drank in one go.  Then, at long last, she nestled herself in one corner of the one-room building, hugging her knees to her chest and laying her head on her knees, content to wait for Nick for as long it took.

 

* * *

 

Judy did what she could to get Nick through the emotional storm and held him with one arm while the other ran her paw through the fur at the back of his head and neck with occasional strokes to his ears. She was still fighting her own fears, trying to understand why her fox was going through so many strong emotional reactions that not even he could hide them, though a good portion of that was he was so out of practice. It had been three years since Nick had given up hustling on the streets and joined her on the ZPD and hadn’t had need to hide what he was feeling with her. When he was hurt, he told her. When he was sad, he let her know, and when he was angry he didn’t hold it in, finding some constructive way to vent it, hence the power workout she’d interrupted.

It wasn’t until he sagged and relaxed into her embrace, his breathing evening out that the bunny spoke, Judy keeping her tone soft and supportive. “Wanna talk about it? I mean, if you want to. We don’t have to if you’re not ready.”

At first she thought the tremor that ran through her fox was another emotional outburst. It wasn’t until she heard the chuffing sound that she realized he was chuckling softly. “It’s okay, Carrots. I think the worst of it’s over. I…she caught me off guard is all.”

The two parted and Judy caressed the side of his face as they pulled back just enough to look at each other but close enough that they were still connected by the embrace they shared. “Who? The vixen that was talking to Benji?” She watched as Nick nodded silently and slowly blinked his eyes clear before he rubbed at them. “You know her.” It was a statement and not a question.

“Yeah. I know her…or _knew_ her. We…her name’s Skye. We’ve been friends since we were kits.” The tone that he dropped into at the word ‘friends’ indicated that the situation might be different now.

Judy was listening closely even while a tiny voice at the back of her mind railed. The vixen was stunning! Not only that, even her name was pretty! It was completely unfair. Her paw continued to stroke the fur of her fox’s muzzle as she clamped down that nagging little voice and tried to devote her attention to what Nick was saying.

“You know how they taught us at the Academy to not just listen what was said, but also how?” the bunny quipped. “I’m getting the feeling that she meant a lot to you.”

Emerald eyes met amethyst and Nick slowly inclined his head. “I won’t lie to you, Judy. She did mean a lot to me. The problem is, I think she might still.”

“…oh…” she replied in a tiny voice. Nick rarely used her name unless it was a serious discussion or in the throes of passion. As far as warning signs went, that was hard to ignore.

The droop of the doe’s ears was a warning and before she could sink further, Nick lifted his fiancee’s chin by placing a finger underneath it so she had to look him in the eyes. “Not like that,” he told her softly, “even though I tried to get it to go that way a couple of times. We were just really close friends. Even closer than Finnick and I.” His lips touched the end of her nose in a part playful, part sincere little display of affection. “We never did anything, but we were good friends.”

Nick shifted so that he could pull the bunny up onto his lap and snugged her close.

“Like I said, we grew up together. Skye…she and I sort of depended on each other, especially with the way foxes were treated back then. Sort of like each other’s support group when the comments and pranks and treatment from other mammals got too bad to handle it. I think she was the reason that I didn’t wind up in juvenile detention. I used to have a rather explosive temper.

“Anyway, she got a job that required travel on a regular basis and the last time I saw her she said she’d be back in a month, but never came back. I…I thought she was dead. I tried to find out where she went but never got any leads, no matter who I asked. After a few more months passed I started checking record of unknown mammals that had been taken to the morgue. I think the guys that worked there thought I was some kind of ghoul or got some freaky jollies of talking about dead mammals. It didn’t help the reputation of foxes any.

“At one point I even asked Mr. Big if he could learn anything. All that got me was more frustration.”

Judy tilted her head quizzically. “How long ago was this? We could’ve used the ZPD database to search for results.”

Nick sighed as he tightened his hold around the bunny, taking substantial comfort from feeling the hug returned and nestled against that familiar warmth. “Six years,” he finally answered in a whisper.

“ _Six_ years? Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick! No wonder you acted like you did!”

“Which was why I didn’t use department resources to look for her. I guess I could have had her legally declared dead, but who would’ve really known or cared besides me?”

“Well, she’s your friend,” Judy pointed out as the tiny voice started screaming at her to shut up before she did something phenomenally stupid. “Maybe you should talk to her and find out what happened.” In the vaults of her own mind the voice ranted vehemently. _‘Stupid, idiot, DUMB BUNNY!’_

Before Nick could respond the sound of knuckles rapping sharply on the door of the apartment reached them. “I’ll get it. Why don’t you change and relax then we’ll talk about what to do for dinner,” he recommended as he lifted Judy from his lap and set her on her feet with a kiss planted between her ears.

Judy simply nodded and tried to give a smile that she didn’t feel. There was a nagging feeling in her stomach that agreed with the little voice in her head that said this situation was going to be more than a little challenging. The thing was, Nick had had plenty of females try to get his attention and every one of them had been rebuffed, especially after he and Judy had started dating. He’d never given her reason to doubt his sincerity, and that had gone doubly so at the discussion of marriage.

But this _felt_ different.

As she began to peel off her uniform, her equipment belt going on its hook next to the door, Judy felt unease push away the desire for food and hoped that Nick wouldn’t pick up on her distracted state and trepidation.

While Judy went into their bedroom area, like other parts of the studio apartment it was separated by folding screens that also added a splash of color to the rather austere flat, Nick stepped to the door. A glance out the fisheye spy hole revealed an empty hallway, but he’d been an officer for too long not to open the door and actually verify that it was devoid of life with his own eyes. When he opened the steel door a flutter of white caught his attention and before it could hit the industrial carpet that covered the concrete floor Nick had the small folded page in his paw.

Nick’s ear flickered at the sound of the shower starting up as he unfolded the page and read the words on it, his eyes recognizing the simple, flowing script that was undeniably Skye’s. It was written in black ink, but a slight trill ran through him similar to the one he’d experience in high school when the vixen would slip him notes.

 

> _Nicky,_
> 
> _You’re angry, and you have every right to be.  If you’re hurt, take care of the wounds first.  Then take care of your emotions.  When you’re ready, come see me.  We need to talk.  It’s not a simple story.  You remember where we went after Prom, don’t you?_
> 
> _~Skye_

Nick crumpled the paper in his paw as he closed his eyes tightly, sucking in several deep breaths through his nose before exhaling slowly. As he tried to center himself and stop the sensation that the world around him had suddenly spun out of control, Nick wondered how to handle the situation.

 _‘Why?’_ he asked himself as he felt his equilibrium stabilize excruciatingly slowly. _‘Why now? Why not earlier? A letter…a phone call? No, she has to show up at the station!’_ The note went into the garbage can in the kitchen area, Nick pausing to flip a used paper towel over it before also adding a used coffee filter with a substantial caking of soggy grounds.

Of course, the biggest and most difficult question stopped him dead in his tracks.

_‘What am I going to do about it?’_

Nick swallowed hard and placed a paw over his chest and rubbed at the ache beneath the bone. He was in love with Judy. Of that there was no doubt. They were engaged and she was going to be his wife! He loved his Carrots and that was all there was to it.

A sarcastic smirk that turned into a sour frown pulled at his muzzle.

And perhaps if he kept telling himself that the nagging feeling in his heart would vanish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is a collaboration between me and Selaxes, who is exclusively on fanfiction.net. I'm writing the portions in Skye's point of view, and he's writing the portions in Nick and Judy's POV. The story is mine, but was inspired by a discussion or three AeonFeral and I had awhile back. 
> 
> So, this chapter is much longer than most of my chapters. This is partly due to Selaxes; he's very good at long chapters, and I'm thrilled to have his support with this one. Also, given the tone of the ending of the chapter, I know some of you will assume cheating is in the future of this story. Please bear with me, okay? I promise, it will work out somehow. Can't say how, spoilers :P
> 
> The art at the top of the page was drawn for this chapter by the wonderful and talented Softlight289! You can find her on tumblr, she's a truly wonderful person and a great artist.


	2. Pull Pin, Count to Three

There was still almost six hours until sunrise, and despite the soft bundle of warmth that was sleeping next to him, the feel of her breathing and fur mingling with his, Nick found sleep to be elusive as his mind refused to shut down. Thoughts ran in circles, first on Judy, then on Skye; back and forth to the point that once more the fox’s sense of mental balance was shot to hell. With an exasperated sigh he carefully slid to the edge of the bed he and Judy shared, shifting the covers as he went. His pillow against her back stopped the small stirrings from his bunny as she noted his absence, even while asleep, and he made sure she was tucked in before letting his legs fall over the side of the mattress and sat with his head in his paws.

Nick had planned on waiting until the following day to meet up with Skye, wanting… _needing_ answers as to why she fell of the face of the earth. Standing with as much caution as he’d pulled away from the doe he loved, the fox stood and found a simple change of clothes, wallet and phone, the bundle gripped tightly in his paw as he exited the area they set aside as a bedroom before getting dressed. He had plenty of spare uniforms in his locker at the precinct so the only things he really had to worry about were his belt and the various pieces of equipment that went into a gym bag along with a small umbrella.

Before leaving Nick snagged the pad that they normally used to make grocery lists and scrawled a quick apology and note to Judy, placing it under the edge of the coffee mug he’d bought her for her birthday before they started dating. She would definitely find it and he prayed that she wouldn’t kill him for leaving her in the middle of the night, but seeing Skye was tearing him up and he needed answers.

His mouth was a tight line as he explained that he’d meet her at the precinct and to not worry before also writing an apology. Nick then told her he loved her, underlining that one word twice and tacked on a series of X’s and O’s before setting the cup on it. He knew that this would worry her. For all of Judy’s strengths and determination, there were times that she could be dreadfully fragile.

Then again, so could he, though the admission rankled.

With another sigh Nick let himself out of the apartment and padded down the hall to the elevator, his mind already turning to the best route to get to the Rainforest district. Fortunately with the diverse species of mammals in the city public transport ran steadily all day, every day. He could meet with Skye and still make it to work in time. Though there was always the possibility of calling out for the day, heaven knew he had the time saved up, but that had the potential of complicating things with Judy even more than they already would be.

As one of the many eco-friendly buses pulled up to the stop, Nick clambered up the steps for small mammals and flicked his pass at the reader before finding an appropriately sized seat and flopped in to it. The bus would carry the fox to the district’s main transportation hub and from there he could catch another or the subway to the Rainforest section of the city. Either way it would take maybe forty minutes with the light traffic to reach his destination. Nick knew that he’d have to do something to show his appreciation to his fiancée. This had been tossed at them with no warning and she had been gracious and supportive, willing to give him space if he needed, also willing to be there for him. That was one of the reasons that his Carrots had stolen his heart and made it hers.

Well, she’d claimed what was left.

Skye had taken a substantial chunk of it when she disappeared and hadn’t come back. And Nick had buried that portion when he’d had his own little memorial before getting absolutely shitfaced. Fortunately Finnick had been there to keep him from doing something stupid, even though he hadn’t ever really warmed to Skye.

As those thoughts tumbled through his mind Nick felt the hurt start to surface once more, and on the heels of that was anger and the same tired questions that had plagued him since the afternoon before. The fox glanced at his watch. He could be at the place that Skye had indicated within the hour, talk, and depending on her answers she gave him, be to work before Judy. He sat back and watched the lights flash past the window in a series of amorphous blobs of illumination as his mind once more ran in circles.

 

* * *

 

Judy snapped awake at the lack of warmth at her back, the thick brush of a tail that normally lay over her hip and the arms that wrapped around her. She knew even before lifting up slightly and turning around that it wasn’t Nick, though she looked anyway, her heart constricting to find that it was his pillow. She pushed it away even as her eyes began to fill and her breath came in hitches and starts before throwing the covers back and rolling out of bed.

The bunny hoped that he was just suffering difficulty sleeping and was somewhere else in the studio apartment, even though the little voice in her head said otherwise.

 _‘You know why he isn’t here,’_ it whispered insidiously.

“Shut up,” Judy whispered tremulously as she checked the bathroom before turning for the screened off workout section.

 _‘He’s gone to_ Her _, and you know it,’_ it persisted.

“Shut. Up,” she told herself more forcefully as she spied the empty bench and weights that were on their rack.

 _‘What can a_ bunny _offer him that a_ vixen _can’t? You aren’t even his species and biology always wins, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what you said during the press conference? Biology?’_

“Shut up!” Judy cried out, though it was a desperate plea and she pulled her ears down trying to block out the voice even though it was in her own head. “He’ll be back!”

 _‘Sure he will,’_ the voice taunted. _‘And you’re still just a wishful, naïve, dumb bunny.’_

She wandered into the kitchen area and saw the note under her favorite cup and pulled it out, Nick’s pawwriting easy to identify as she read the words. Something fell on the paper that caused the ink to smear and it took a moment for Judy to realize that it was one of her own tears. Not normally a superstitious mammal, she took it as something of an omen that it had landed on the word ‘Love’ and rendered it little more than an illegible blob of ink.

The rest of the world seemed to emulate the word on the paper as Judy’s eyes filled and she sank to the kitchen floor, the note crumpling in her paws as she gave in to the feeling of hurt and loss that filled her. As she clasped her paws together and pressed them against her breast, the voice added one last jab.

_‘Why would Nick settle for a stupid bunny when he can have someone like the vixen? Someone that can give him not only love, but children…’_

“But he loves me,” she countered herself weakly.

The voice actually laughed in dark amusement. _‘Sure he does. That’s why he snuck out in the middle of the night like…a_ fox _.’_

Judy sobbed mightily and folded in on herself. “He said he loved me…”

The only response was more internal laughter.

 

* * *

 

The shack hadn’t changed in the slightest after all the years that had passed since Nick had last seen it. There might be more vines clinging to it, but that only helped conceal it better. The path had a touch more springy moss, but that, too, was just additional camouflage. He made sure to generate noise before entering the abandoned structure, clearing his throat and calling the vixen’s name.

“I’m here, Skye,” Nick said before pushing through the vines and other greenery concealing the door. “And I’ve got this,” he informed the vixen, pushing a bag of soy burgers with all the fixings and paper cups of fried grasshoppers through first. The first thing that Nick saw were familiar eyes that never seemed to settle on one color, always shifting between variations of blue. The second thing that he looked at was the Glock 22 pistol pointed at him. He shifted slightly as he stopped and let her see who was coming in.

“If that’s food I might not shoot you,” the white furred vixen quipped with a weak grin.

Nick handed the bag over along with a small can of mixed berry fruit juice, waiting until the pistol was set aside before taking a seat on the floor strewn with dried plant debris. The inside of the forgotten building seemed almost exactly as it had been years ago. There was a sort of pervading twilight despite the powerful streetlamps outside, and the air reeked of growing things and moisture. In all it wasn’t a terrible smell, but it was pungent and earthy and caused memories of the first time he and Skye had sought this refuge out together.

The vixen wasn’t concerned about her surroundings, though. Her sole focus was the bag of food that she tore into with a hint of…savagery was the only term that came to Nick’s mind. Instead of reaching into the bag to remove items, Skye ripped the front, barely stopping to peel back the wax paper around the first burger before tearing into it. It was a little disconcerting to watch as the red fox remembered her being a very neat eater with almost exquisite manners and now here she was almost acting like one of the victims of Night Howler that he remembered seeing eat. He settled back, using the ploy of getting comfortable to put a couple more inches between them, though not because she was making a mess, but because she was acting like a starved mammal.

He refrained from asking the questions that were burning inside, letting her finish the meal first. It also allowed him a few moments to get a better hold of his own emotions as he watched the second burger go the way of the first.

At the completion of the two burgers Skye gulped down most of the can of juice, grateful for something other than tepid rainwater she could glean from outside. "Sorry about that,” the vixen apologized in a soft voice. “I haven't eaten in two days.  I'm completely broke and don't really have anywhere to go, so I haven't been able to find food legally." She adjusted her position, stretching her leg out at an angle so as to not kick Nick.  "I'm supposed to have a severance package coming through with funds, but it'll take probably a week or two to go through.  You know the government and their red tape," Skye told him casually as she began popping fried grasshoppers into her maw one at a time.

Nick had to repress a shiver as her voice caressed his ears. It was still the same melodic soprano that he recalled, chock full of friendship and something indefinable, though there was a sort of brittle edge to it that hadn’t been there the last time they spoke over half a decade previous. He took a deep breath and looked up into her eyes, the aloof cast to them gone, as was the slightly frantic light they’d had when he first stepped through the doorway. They were once again the inviting, friendly orbs that used to fill his daydreams and musings.

That is until her blue eyes were replaced by amethyst ones and he dared to have new dreams.

“I thought you were dead,” they said in unison, each jerking at the old habit of both saying the same thing at the exact same moment.

Skye regarded him for several moments before her muzzle split in a laugh, though it was off, almost like it was forced, as if humor didn’t fit her anymore. It sounded as if she hadn't laughed in a long time.  "Some things never change, Nicky."

When the smile faded into a frown, as if the vixen’s happiness melted away under some dark influence, Nick went still, wondering what could cause one of the happiest mammals he’d ever known to show such pain and sadness for a brief moment.

"I did die, Nick.  Technically.  I was clinically dead for nine minutes, the first time."

Nick blinked, not really comprehending what Skye had just said. It was like watching a show that had a slight delay to it, certain things not adding up or making sense. He shook his head and leaned a little closer.

“Skylar,” the red fox began softly, Nick being one of the few mammals that could get away with calling her by her proper name. “What do you mean ‘dead the first time’? What happened? Where were you?” he asked, the pain buried for so many years creeping into his voice and his eyes. “I tried so long to find you, or to discover where you went or if you were alive or dead…” He blinked away the full feeling in his eyes, refusing to let anymore tears fall until he had some sort of answer. “Where were you?”

The vixen sat quietly though she flinched slightly at the accusatory tone in the next question.

“Why’d you leave me like that?”

Skye regarded her oldest friend with an odd expression.

“What?” asked Nick.

Nick watched as she seemed to be engaged in an internal monologue for several seconds. When she finished her internal debate the vixen nodded slightly before plucking her backpack up off the floor next to her and reached into a pocket, all of it without taking her eyes from him. It was with a bit of a start that Nick realized that it was the same backpack he’d gotten for her while they were still in high school. When she extricated her paw and held it out it was with a card between her fingers in a clear indication he should look at it.

Despite all of his efforts a small tingle ran up Nick’s arm as he brushed her finger pads with his, then pushed down the sort of jolt from the momentary contact and used the weak light spilling in from outside to look at the card, the illumination more than enough for fox eyes evolved to function in the dark.

The plastic rectangle was one of the higher quality identification cards, Skye’s picture etched into the surface along with her full name and a series of numbers that caused his blood to chill slightly. It was the standard ID number assigned to agents of the ZIA, the mammals that took on issues that were beyond the capabilities of traditional law enforcement officers.

“You’re a spook, Skye? Seriously” Nick asked, though there was more than a little accusation in his tone as his frown matched hers from just before.

The white vixen eyed her friend him with a completely flat expression. "You hustled for twenty years, Nick, don't give me that look." She took the ID back and put it away in its specific pocket before setting her bag aside. "How do you think you avoided prison all those years, Nick? Until six years ago I took care of your tax problems, and erased your big transgressions.

“When I turned eighteen I was approached for recruitment, someone decided I had the chops and..."  She sighed and looked away as she crossed her arms over her breasts.  "What else was a fox supposed to do, Nick?  Flip bugburgers for the rest of my life? I took what I could get. I helped people. I got good at it."

Nick sighed and held up his paws. It wasn’t her occupation that caused what he was feeling at that moment. “Six years, Skye! It’s not that you were ZIA. I’ve dealt with them, they’ve got a tough job, and one that I’m not suited for. But six years!” he continued, his gut clenching as the pads on his paws dampened in agitation. “I…I thought you were dead!” he continued. “For fuck’s sake! I had a funeral for you and there was no body!”

Nick didn’t notice the slight hardening of the vixen’s eyes as she glared at him, too wrapped up in his emotional turmoil to notice. If truth be told he was glad to see her, elated even, but also there was a kernel of worry and fear as to what this meant. Because even after all this time, Skye mattered to him.

And the ramifications were terrifying.

Skye's gaze hardened into a glare. The emotions, the memories came rising up and she was unable to stop the strangled shout that ripped from her throat. "I was a _prisoner of war, Nick_!  You think I just walked away?! I spent the last six years in a desert country being _tortured for information and pleasure_! I was killed and resuscitated half a dozen times, and when I gave them the information they wanted they refused to let me stay dead like they promised. You think I wanted to be away from here?  All I wanted was to come **_home_**."

The silence resulting from the outburst drew out for long moments, the lack of noise from either almost deafening.

Her next words were spoken so very quietly that a whisper would have been like a shout. "I'm alive because of _you_ , Nick. Memories of you motivated me.  And you think I _left_ you?!"

Before he knew what he was doing, the red fox took the paws of the other vulpine in a manner that, like the abandoned building, had been old practice, just like when they were teenagers and tried to comfort the other against the pain and misery of simply being foxes. When he gave her fingers a squeeze, causing her to look at him, it was to see the abject misery in his emerald eyes.

“No, Skye,” he told her in an agonized tone. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me.”

The arctic vixen’s head twitched into a puzzled tilt. “I… _what_...?”

“Me,” Nick repeated, his face crumbling. “I’m pissed at me because I gave up!” He dropped his gaze, unable to meet her eyes any longer. “I gave up and I shouldn’t have. And I met another…and I…I’m engaged to her…” When he felt her paws pull away from his it was one of the worst feelings he’d ever experienced and sat there afraid, ashamed and at odds.

Skye stared at him for a long moment, conflict and sorrow evident on her face. Then she looked away with a slight grimace. "…the rabbit, right? The little grey bunny. Figures. I can smell her on you. Don’t get me wrong, she's stunning, a good choice." The vixen let her head lean back against the wall, staring up at the far part of the ceiling blankly. "I suppose this is a bad time to tell you I've loved you since I was four."

Nick jerked his head slightly so that he could better see the other fox, and incredulous look on his face. “You know, the timing could have been a little better, Snowball,” he groused, reverting to the nickname that he’d given her long, long ago. He let his head thunk against the wall as he ran his paws over his face and grabbed his ears in frustration of what to do, his palm pads pressing hard against his eyelids. “That wasn’t right,” Nick said, his tone soft and sounding almost defeated. “You’ve been through more than a hundred mammals should ever face. I’m sorry.”

With his eyes covered, Nick didn’t see the expression of slight wonder that settled into the shifting blue eyes. The ‘old’ Nick would have reacted poorly, quick of temper and to fly off in a huff, maybe throw things or lash out and verbally flay another. This new Nick was far more mature. It was the fox she always knew he could be. It might be a painful thing to admit, but perhaps that bunny really was good for her friend. He’d grown up and finally stopped skating the line between hoodlum and citizen.

Nick’s next question pulled Skye out of her contemplation of the one individual that had been a constant in her life.

“So, you don’t have any money for at least a week,” Nick said, the statement rhetorical. “And you aren’t staying here.”

The vixen gave a tired, half sad smile. “I was going to ask if you had crash space or a couch I could use. All things considered I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.”

The russet furred tod shrugged. “If Carrots and I can let her over sexed sisters or constantly horny brothers stay, we can let my oldest friend hang out until she’s on her feet.” Nick stood and held a paw out to Skye, not just pulling her up, but continued the motion and drew her into a hug. His arms wrapped around her with a sort of ferocity that told both of them just how much he’d missed her, sighing with a shudder as she held him just as tightly. “It’s so good to see you…to know that you’re alive!” he whispered in a quavering voice as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

“You, too.”

When they parted Nick pulled out his wallet and thumbed several bills off what was inside and handed them to Skye before slipping a key off of his ring. “You already know where the address is. Just wait until about seven to head over there. It’ll give Carrots time to head to work.” He looked up to see a reproachful look in the vixen’s wet eyes. “What?”

“You call your fiancée ‘Carrots’? Really?”

All Nick could do in response was shrug and smile, a genuine expression with none of his hustler’s smarm. “Believe me, Judy let’s me know when I mess up.” He glanced at his watch. “Quick. Give me your number so I can tag you. I need to hurry or I’m going to be late and I’m in enough trouble as it is.”

 

* * *

 

It was all Judy could do to put on her uniform, the equipment belt feeling as if it were weighted down with lead as she settled it on the lithe, feminine curve of her hips. She glanced at herself in the mirror before touching up her facial fur with a brush. The bunny didn’t feel like going in to work, but there was just more than her at stake when she took an unscheduled day off, and whatever happened over the course of the night, she would have to deal with it. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

“Fucking fox,” she muttered while trudging into the kitchen and pouring a small cup of coffee, a bit of milk and sugar going into the brew with a touch of hazelnut. It wasn’t the first time she’d had a relationship end, but realizing the fact didn’t make her any happier. Maybe she could ask Bogo for a different partner for the day. It might be a good idea to get away from Nick to sort her head and heart out. Then again, cornering him in the car where he couldn’t escape and had to talk to her might not be a bad thing either. Fortunately for him the only thing that Judy could do if he truly cheesed her the hell of was tranq him.

“Although,” the doe said to herself as she tossed the last of the cup back, “if he did cheat, he’s going to look like an ass when I shave his tail…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, and so soon! Some more comes to light, some temptations are laid out, things are beginning to get interesting. I hope this new chapter meets with your approval!
> 
> So the next chapter, chapter 3 that is, won't be coming for at least another week. Selaxes has a thing going on that will leave him incommunicado for awhile, so this will be paused for that duration. I've not forgotten my other projects, though, and I might do some work on them in the meantime. Please feel free to comment if you have anything to say!


	3. A Little Slice of Hell

Bogo snorted as his hooves gripped the slanted top of his lectern, the wood creaking dangerously as it threatened to splinter under the immense pressure of his thick fingers. The Cape Buffalo wasn’t sure what was happening between two of his best officers, but whatever the issue it was affecting them for the worst this morning. They weren’t even sitting together, a sure sign of something major having come between them, and neither looked as if they’d slept. Bogo observed them as they kept each other in their peripheral vision, stealing glances at one another when the second party wasn’t directly watching.

It was enough to make the large bull grind his teeth.

Pushing on Bogo passed out assignments for the day, switching up some of the officers that he had on one assignment to a different one, and very pointedly didn’t call on either Hopps or Wilde until the bullpen had cleared. He waited for the door to close before rubbing at his face then stepped around the lectern and took one of the heavy chairs for the largest of his officers, spinning it about so that he sat down with his legs straddling the backrest and rested his forearms on the rear of the seat. His gaze flicked from one of the small mammals to the other before he sighed, his eyes closing for a moment as he composed his thoughts.

“I don’t know what’s happening between you two, and I want to say I don’t care,” Bogo began in his deep, resonant voice, “but I do care because whatever this is it’s tearing the two of you up and it has the potential of affecting the rest of the precinct.” He held up his hooves and shook his huge head. “You don’t have to tell me what it is unless you want to, but I can’t have this going on, not after all of the time the pair of you have put in, the successes, and becoming the best teams that this department has seen in a long damn while.

“Now, I could put you on desk detail, but you’re contagious and these attitudes are dangerous for the rest of my officers. I could suspend you because I’m the Chief and it’s my prerogative,” he gave both mammals a hard look when they jerked in surprise, each opening their mouths to protest and glared both of them into maintaining their silence, “but that would short me two bodies for duty. So, what I _am_ going to do is assign you to parking duty. Do I care if you write tickets? No. No, I don’t. Do I care that you get over this? Yes, I do. Go park somewhere, drive around, but whatever you do, fix this.”

He gave the fox and bunny one of the softest looks any of his officers had ever seen, especially Nick and Judy.

“You can get past this,” he told them while standing and swinging the chair back where it had been. “Now, after you get off shift I’ll switch your days off so you can sort your priorities and I don’t have to look at the two of you moping around for the next three days. And if you need, my door is open but don’t think about abusing that offer. Now get out of here.”

The two officers watched the Chief depart, though they still couldn’t quite meet the other’s eyes. Where Judy was concerned she wanted to be angry but all she actually felt was… _betrayed_. And hurt. She headed for the door that the Cape Buffalo had gone through, the fox closing it after he passed through, then stopped, her paws balled into fists at her sides.

“Do you know what it feels like to wake up with the mammal you love gone?” the doe asked softly. “To fall asleep in your fiancée’s arms, then when you open your eyes it’s his pillow at your back?” She let her head slump forward and despite a valiant effort, two tears splattered silently on the floor as they coursed down her cheeks. “I have never hurt like that in my entire life, Nick. Not even when I fucked up the press conference and you and I were apart.”

She began to shiver and wrapped her arms around her body, her paws clutching her shoulders.

“If…if you want to be with her just…just let me know. Don’t drag it out, N-Nick. If…if you want me gone I can be moved out by th-the weekend…”

Listening to Judy breakdown at the end of her offer to leave if he wanted it crushed the fox’s heart and before he could even think about it Nick covered the distance between him and the bunny in a single bound and had his arms around the doe. “Of course I don’t want you to leave!” he exclaimed, feeling her tense up before melting into his embrace for a moment. Then she turned and pressed as much of her body as she could into his body, gripping his uniform shirt with all of her not inconsiderable strength. “I love you, Judith Laverne Hopps and I’ve asked you to marry me. That hasn’t changed in the slightest. I’m still in love with you and I still want to be your husband and mate.”

Judy looked up, blinking her large amethyst eyes clear, so much raw hope and hurt in them that it caused the fox’s breath to catch. He’d seen Judy nude more times than he could count, but he’d never seen her so naked and defenseless. He dropped to his knees and held her close, stroking her ears with his thumb as he cradled the back of her head while his other arm and paw pulled her tight against him, as if he were trying to cover her entire body with his. Even his tail wrapped around her in the way that she always thrilled at.

Nick shivered as Judy nuzzled herself into his cheek fur for a moment before pulling back with reluctance. “You know, this really isn’t the best place for us to talk. I think we should go check the meters over by the Savannah South water garden,” the bunny suggested.

The location’s significance wasn’t lost on the fox. It was the place that Nick had taken Judy on their first official date to watch the Zootopia anniversary fireworks show and also the place that he’d proposed to her.

Upon unspoken agreement, Nick drove their cruiser to the spot where they would talk, already agreeing to try and keep their emotions in check while the discussed events. The fox even found a large tree that kept the cruiser out of the sun and gave them a modicum of privacy. Then again, mammals rarely approached a police cruiser unless there was some sort of emergency. Cups of a carrot, orange, and vanilla smoothie rested in Judy’s paw while Nick had gotten a blueberry and cream. He flicked his glasses up onto his head as soon as he shut off the black and white and let out a tense breath.

“Before we get too deep into this, I think I need to tell you about Skye and why I acted the way I did,” Nick said softly. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before turning to look at Judy, noticing that the bunny _looked_ as distraught as he felt. She even fought to keep her nose from twitching in apprehension.

 _‘That’s my Carrots,’_ the fox thought to himself with more than a little pride and a great deal of affection. _‘You’re so brave, so determined, but so inexperienced at the same time! You know about physical intimacy, but you aren’t at all familiar with **love** , are you?’_

He reached out and took the doe’s paw in his and stroked the fur of her knuckles with his thumb pad and swallowed to clear his throat before speaking.

“Skye and I go back a long ways, Judy. And when I say that, I mean all the way. I have…flashes of memories…of both of us being together from when we were still in diapers. She and I have literally known each other all our lives. So when I say that she’s my oldest friend you’ll understand what I mean.”

He felt the encouraging, gentle squeeze from Judy and took a little breath. She hadn’t hit him yet, so that was a good sign. Despite her ability to take down even the largest mammals they encountered, Judy’s ability to demonstrate her feelings ranged from awkward to extremely affectionate. Despite her almost stunted ability to interact with others in a healthy manner, her all-or-nothing enthusiasm was one of her most endearing traits.

“I hate to say it, but foxes were treated even worse back then than we are now. Discrimination against foxes was a given. Mammals would say the most hurtful things possible, they’d throw garbage at us, and the popular misconceptions were taken as gospel with no one willing to give us a chance to show how good we could be. It was a terrible, painful way to grow up, and while our parents tried to make it better, it was Skye that got me through those times, just like I pulled her through. We were the world to each other.

“When I had the muzzle put on me from the Junior Ranger Scouts meeting, it was Skye that found me and took care of the cuts in my muzzle. When mammals at school stole Skye’s books and wrecked her science fair project it was me that got her stuff back and made sure those guys got in trouble. When my dad died, she held me and when her first date tried to force her, I was the one that held her.”

Nick really hadn’t been prepared for the emotions that accompanied the memories he dredged up and was unaware of just how much they were affecting him until Judy reached up to dab at the fur under his eyes with a napkin that was in the cruiser from some shared lunch in the recent past.

“She was the one that first tried to get me to abandon my hustling, lecturing me that I was better than that,” Nick admitted with a sad chuckle. “She yelled at me for hours that I was being a selfish dick and giving in to the stereotype. I didn’t listen to her, though. The money was good, the hours were whatever I wanted them to be. I told her I’d change, just one more hustle, one more con, but I didn’t stop.”

The fox pulled himself out of the recollections and focused on Judy, giving her an affectionate smile that was warm and caring.

“It took another special girl to get me to mend my ways.”

Judy brightened at the compliment and brought Nick’s paw to her muzzle to nibble on it with a tender bit of loveplay. “Why didn’t the two of you wind up together? I can tell that you care about Skye by the way you talk about her and the way your eyes light up. How come you aren’t with her instead of me?”

The question was sincere and honest, and despite her brave face, it was easy to tell that she was dreading the answer he might give.

Nick shrugged. “It wasn’t for lack of trying,” he admitted. “Sure we made out and got touchy-feely a few times, but she wouldn’t let me go further than that because I wouldn’t give up my hustling.” He sighed and shook his head. “Then the day came when she told me that she’d be starting a new job that would require travel. Stupid me jumped on that. If Skye was out of town I could scam a little more, keep on raking in the money without her knowing. I didn’t even think to ask what she was going to be doing.

“When Skye would show up it was like the times before and we’d hang out and go to the places we liked, stay up all night just talking and being together. Then she’d take off again and I went back to my life without a second thought. Then the day came where she didn’t come back. It turned into a week. The week into a month…then a year. That finally turned into six.”

Judy was leaning forward with the story that unfolded and when Nick’s ears began to droop and he shivered she maintained her hold on his paw while placing the other on his upper arm.

“I tried to find out where she went, what happened. Every contact I had…every favor that was owed…even going so far as to ask Mr. Big…no one knew. No one could tell me a thing. By the second year, a few months before you confronted my over the pawpsicles,” he said with a half smile that faded quickly, “I…I had a funeral for her. I mean, I didn’t get _anything_! Skye would call, or send an email or postcard…but nothing for two years. The only way that could happen is if she was dead.”

“I guess that wasn’t the case, obviously, was it?” Judy asked in a gentle, almost breathy, whisper.

The fox shook his head. “No. That wasn’t the case.” Nick fought with how much to tell the bunny and finally decided on being completely truthful. That alone should have been an indication how much Judy had helped him change into the fox he was now. The ‘old’ Nick wouldn’t have hesitated in misdirection or outright lying for any more reason than he could. But Judy had helped to bring him to the other side, and he loved her enough to be as completely honest, even if it hurt, as a mammal could be. “It’s because she was with the ZIA. Things went to shit, and she got caught. Caught and imprisoned and…well, it wasn’t good. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it, Carrots.”

Silence fell between them, the tension thick enough to feel. Finally after almost five minutes, Judy asked the question that had been burning inside her since she woke up to find not her fox at her back, but his pillow.

“So…you didn’t go to her to…you know… _sleep_ with her?”

“What?!” Nick husked, his eyes widening. “No! Of course not! I…I needed to know what happened! And…and I needed to apologize.”

“Apologize for what?” the bunny asked in genuine confusion.

“For giving up on her,” he admitted in a quiet voice, sinking in on himself in regret, shame and pain. He took his free paw and rested it over his muzzle as if he had a headache. “Damn it! I’m fucking this up and I don’t mean to, Carrots. I swear!”

Judy felt some of the tension leaving her shoulders and back and her ears finally began to lift for the first time that day. “You aren’t fucking up, Nick. You’re being honest. It isn’t always easy.”

“You ain’t lying there,” the fox agreed.

“I…I just have one more question, Nick,” Judy said, gulping when her fiancée turned to look at her. “And I think I already know the answer, but I need…I guess I need to hear it.”

She watched as he nodded for her to go ahead and ask, the worry about what it was going to be clear in his emerald eyes.

“D-do you love her?”

Nick swallowed hard as he closed his eyes, unable to see the purely naked and vulnerable look in the bunny’s own and finally nodded slowly. “I do,” he whispered. “And I love you and…god, it feels like my chest is full of broken glass because I don’t want to hurt either of you…”

The rest of the tension seemed to drain from Judy, getting the answer she already knew, but hearing it somehow coming as a both a relief and as a blow to her heart and soul. “I think I already knew, but I had to hear it, too. Thank you, I guess, for not lying.” The bunny fought the nauseous sensation in her gut and put on a patently false smile. “I suppose I should meet her. I mean, it’s the least I can do for your oldest friend and all..”

The fox realized that Judy had released his paw and put it on the steering wheel before resting his forehead against the vinyl covering. “I think that can be set up. I…I told her she could stay at the apartment until her severance package comes in from the ZIA. I…I couldn’t let her stay on the streets, Judy. And she hadn’t eaten in a while…”

The bunny drew in a deep breath through her nose and tried to quell the sense of defeat that filled her, irrational as it might be. It would certainly make it easier to meet and talk to the competition for Nick’s heart, not that she thought there would be much of a chance of her getting to keep Nick. Not when there was a vixen that was so beautiful waiting for them to get home.

And after all, what _could_ Judy offer? Skye was lithe and lean and with her tail had an innate fluid grace. Her fur was gorgeous, long and vibrant and had already known Nick for years. In comparison, Judy felt…well, dumpy. Her grey and white fur was rather uninspiring, she was short, almost stocky compared to the vixen…

“That was the right thing to do,” the doe finally said as she plucked the pawheld ticket printer from the center console and powered it up. “Does she like Chinese? We can pick some up after shift.” She pulled a reflective safety vest out as well and got ready to exit the vehicle to prowl the parking meters around the water garden. “And we can swing by the store and grab some beer. I think that would be a good idea.”

Nick could only nod, the sinking feeling returning at Judy’s behavior and her comment about beer. The bunny wasn’t a big beer drinker and only got it when she was completely stressed, or completely pissed off. He snagged the other vest and ticket printer as he slid from the seat and into the too bright sun.

 

* * *

 

It was more painful than it should have been, when Nick left.  Skye was able to put it off until she was sure he was far enough away that the distance and constant drizzle of the Rainforest District would drown out her voice, but once his footsteps had faded the knot in her chest broke and the tears she’d been holding since he said the word _“engaged”_ fell, hard and fast.  She curled in on herself and let the emotions wash through her without restraint or resistance, and for a time she simply let herself cry.  She’d lost the only mammal she’d ever loved, and the part she found most tragic was that in some ways it wasn’t even her fault.  Sure, she could have lowered her standards and asked him out long ago, but even if she had she would still have lost him.  No, the ones who blew her cover six years ago were to blame for her heartbreak now. 

It almost made her wish they were still alive so she could hunt them down.

Eventually though the hot pressure in her chest eased and her tears slowed and her breathing evened out, the flood of sorrow and grief having passed through.  It left her feeling cleansed, able to face the day without the weight of that lost love on her shoulders.  She knew it would be a long time before she’d stop mourning the life she could have had, but for now she could put it away and function around it.

The first thing she did was blow her nose on a napkin and wipe her eyes.  Then, she gathered all the trash she and Nick had brought in, bundled it all together, and slung her backpack.  Nick had told her to wait until seven, which was an hour and a half from now, but if she sat here much longer she’d fall asleep; it had been nearly twenty-four hours, after all, since she’d slept, and she had things to do before she could go back to Nick’s apartment.  After dropping the trash in a bin nearby, Skye made her way into downtown Savannah Central and once in a relatively dry area she pulled her phone out from her bag and made several calls to some contacts she had in the city.  Some knew she was alive already, others were surprised to hear from her, but she was able to smooth things over with the important ones. 

As a ZIA asset, lying was an important survival skill.  It was something she’d done without thought when needed for her entire adult life.  Even so, lying to Nick Wilde was difficult for her.  He didn’t need to know the ZIA didn’t give “severance packages” to assets, and he certainly didn’t need to know what she would be doing for money as soon as she could get herself going.  He _was_ a cop, after all, and spycraft was illegal by definition.  She would be helping people, in ways that the ZPD couldn’t or wouldn’t, once she was able to get some friends in the city. 

Once she had finished calling everyone she felt she could trust, Skye made her way to a store near Nick’s apartment and used the money he’d given her to purchase some necessities, including a few days worth of food.  Then she made her way to the apartment, arriving there well after seven o’clock.  When she arrived, she took a moment to listen at the door; hearing no sound on the other side, she used the key Nick gave her to carefully unlock the door and slipped inside with her groceries, sniffing the air and listening as she went.  The door was locked behind her, and she set the bags down next to it before taking a good long look at the apartment.

She couldn’t help but grin.  The place was a spy’s wet dream:  as a studio apartment, it was all one open room except for the bathroom, allowing clear sight lines all the way across the domicile, broken up by folding curtains in discreet areas.  The rear right corner of the apartment was a kitchen with a bar segregating it from the rest of the floor.  The bathroom was the only enclosed space in the apartment, taking up the adjacent corner; the rest of the floor was broken up into a sleeping area and workout area on the left side and a large living space nearest the door with that old worn green corduroy couch Nick had owned since he moved out of his mom’s apartment in high school.  It sat before a glass coffee table neatly littered with several magazines, some coasters, and a remote control for the television resting on the small entertainment center opposite the couch. 

The apartment was decorated sparsely with landscapes, fancy lamps, and the occasional tapestry, a neat mix of the eccentric art taste Nick had and something else, no doubt the rabbit’s preferences.  They mixed well, Skye had to admit.  As she walked through the apartment snooping, it became very clear that Nick and the rabbit weren’t just _dating_ …they’d effectively become a unit.  Everything was shared, each object in the apartment containing scents and fur from both mammals.  Their space was saturated with the combined musk, reminding Skye with each inhale that she was lesser, that she was second-best.

There was cause to smile, though, as she went through the apartment.  She found in each section a number of objects carefully placed to allow for quickly-accessed weapons: a pool cue sat in the corner near the door with the umbrellas; a truncheon nestled between the arm and cushion of the couch; a knife hidden with the free weights and another underneath the weight bench; a pistol under the mattress.  It was the sort of precautionary placement Skye had taught Nick long ago, and it felt nice that he still took her lessons to heart. 

“I taught you well, Nick,” muttered Skye as she placed the last of the weapons back in its place.  She returned to the door, grabbed the bags she’d left there, and then went to put the items away.  Most of it was shelf-stable food, and she had to remind herself not to hide it away all over the apartment.  It was a habit she’d acquired during her captivity:  whenever she was given food she’d eat some and hide the rest away for those times when they would starve her.  That habit took three full months for the doctors at the hospital to break, and even now she fought it.

What wasn’t food was shower stuff.  Full-body shampoo and conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, a brand new fur brush.  When she went to take it into the bathroom she laughed:  the shampoo and conditioner she’d bought was the very same that was already in the shower, doubtless Nick’s preferred kind.  He’d used that same “girly” brand for years, since he stole his first bottle from Skye after a sleepover.  It surprised and delighted Skye to see that he still used it.

Once those things were put away, Skye wandered back to the living area, and found her attention caught by framed pictures on the entertainment center.  They were arranged in what seemed chronological order, starting with one showing Nick and the rabbit.  Nick was in khakis and a green palm print shirt and he had his arm around Officer Hopps, who was holding onto him more for support than solidarity; she wore a pink gingham shirt and jeans that were rolled up at the knee on one leg, exposing a large bandage.  The next picture was Nick in a ZPD recruit uniform, and then Officer Hopps with a rabbit marine whose name tape also said Hopps and whose soft blue eyes held an edge to them despite the genuine smile on his face. 

On the pictures went, showing the pair together, with friends and family, and sometimes alone.  Nick’s Academy graduation picture was a very good one, and Skye grinned at the group photo showing Clawhauser, two timber wolves, a tigress, Nick, and Officer Hopps all surrounding Chief Bogo wearing a comically small party hat.  They were standing in front of an elephant-sized birthday cake, and the buffalo had what was clearly meant to be an expression of irritation but which was heavily colored by affection and even grudging humor. 

The picture that caught Skye’s attention most, though was one with just Nick and Officer Hopps. She took it off the entertainment center shelf and gazed at it.  They were dressed casually at what looked like the water garden in Savannah Central; it was a candid photo.  Nick was laughing about something, Officer Hopps was pressed into his side with her arm wrapped around his waist also laughing, and the love they shared there was palpable.  Skye sat on the couch with the picture still in paw and stared at it for a long time.  Her heart hurt, and her eyes watered threatening tears once more, but finally she took a deep breath and set the picture down on the coffee table. 

Skye opened her backpack and drew from it a picture of her own and looked at it.  It wasn’t framed, and consequently was well-worn from many years of carrying it.  It was their prom portrait, Nick looking dashing in a charcoal tuxedo and Skye wearing a baby blue backless dress.  Nick had his arm around her shoulder, Skye had one arm around his waist and the other paw grasping his over her shoulder, and they wore matching smirks.  They hadn’t gone to prom with _each other_ , but their dates had been flakes and so they ended up finding each other along the way, attending the rest of the dance as friends.  When Skye had left Zootopia for the first time, Nick had given her this picture after scrawling a message on the back in marker:  _“Come back to me.”_

She always had.  She’d kept that picture in her backpack since he gave it to her, and she’d always come back to him…except that last time.  It was the only promise to him she’d ever broken.

She compared the picture of them to the picture of Nick and Officer Hopps, and sighed.  Hopps was such a beautiful mammal.  Her eyes were bright and unusual, her fur a wonderful glossy grey.  Her limbs were powerfully built, and she was stocky in that way that you knew it would be impossible to knock her over.  She was curvy in all the right ways.  Compared to her, Skye felt plain.  She was skinny, her fur was flat white with no patterns or embellishments, and her eyes were just a plain blue.  No wonder Nick had fallen for the rabbit.  Skye sighed again and set the picture gingerly on the table next to the framed photograph image side down and stood.

She was feeling the effects of her long day and her shoulder was beginning to seriously hurt, so she grabbed a grey tank top and pair of long boyshorts, set them aside, and stripped out of her clothes to shower.  Since she was alone and didn’t expect anyone else for hours, she took her time with the shower, letting the hot water run over her for several minutes before she very carefully began washing.  Most of the wounds she’d suffered were closed already, the slashes to her inner thighs and belly and much of her back now little more than thick scars, but some of the worst of the gashes in her back were still tender…and there was her shoulder to consider.

When she’d finally escaped from her captors for the final time she wasn’t able to get away fully before they noticed she was gone; therefore, a lioness had pursued her.  Skye was able to evade recapture, but not before the lioness slashed her badly across her right shoulder blade.  The pain was some of the worst she’d felt even after the years of torture, and she blacked out soon after; to this day she didn’t remember how she managed to get to safety alive, let alone get word to her handler in the ZIA, but she had.  She woke a week later in a military hospital and was informed that the muscle attaching to her shoulder blade had been detached from the bone entirely in the attack.  Over the following eight months she underwent half a dozen surgeries to repair the damage, and even now it wasn’t fully healed.  The doctors told her she may never regain full use of her right arm again; she told the doctors to go to hell.

After gingerly washing herself in the shower and letting the hot water rinse her clean and ease the knots out of her muscles, Skye finally got out and dried using the fur drier in the bathroom.  Then she brushed her fur out, and only then, clean and well-groomed again, did she return to the living area and pull on her tank top and boyshorts.  She went into the sleeping area and took Nick’s pillow, curling up on the couch with it clutched in her arms, and she quickly fell deeply asleep, her back to the coffee table and its pictures, her nose buried into Nick’s pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter! Yay! So I was given the first half of this chapter before Selaxes left, and I've been sitting on it since, working out the best way to finish it. I've done it finally and I think it turned out pretty well. Tell me what you think!


	4. Salt and Old Wounds

Judy entered the apartment that she and Nick shared with a sense of dread, though there was also a bit of morbid curiosity as well. She went up first while her fox gathered the bags with supper from one of their favorite Chinese restaurants, however as the door closed behind her the doe wondered if she should have waited. Did the white vixen that threatened her personal little world feel the same way about Nick that she did, or were the two foxes really just friends? 

No matter what the answer, the bunny felt that her fiancée’s acquaintance with the vixen was a threat to her relationship. But again, even if that were the case, what could Judy really do if it came down to a choice between her and Skylar Toklo? Were she in Nick’s position, Judy knew which one she would pick. And it would be the rabbit herself that would be left bereft and broken-hearted. The two had a history that went well beyond what she and Nick shared.

With her mouth open to announce herself as she shut the door, Judy paused when her eyes settled on the snowy white form on the green couch, a small surge of animosity trickling through her very core. Even asleep the fox was alluring, like some sort of minor deity that lorded over the realm of all things erotic and beautiful, radiating a sort of low level sensuality and femininity even asleep. Though some of what the bunny perceived could have simply been that Judy found foxes, regardless of what their gender, to be lovely. Even as a child, when she was bullied by Gideon Grey, the bunny had found him…attractive. 

It just wasn’t fair. 

As her eyes flashed, the lavender of her unusual orbs darkening to almost an indigo, Judy felt unwarranted anger towards the vixen. How dare she be so enticing! 

Then the anger began to melt away as quickly as it had risen as Judy noticed that the manner in which the vixen was dressed revealed a great deal of her legs and arms and other bits of her anatomy. She lay on her left side, her arm curled up under her head, the other held across her breast with paw tightly clenched, legs curled up like a kit would, the brush of her tail held up almost protectively against her body. Despite all of that, Judy saw the imperfections in her fur that would otherwise have been invisible. It looked as if Skye’s legs had been…well, she wasn’t sure, but barely visible under the snowy fur was the angry pink of healed flesh. There were also scars on the fox’s foot pads, and her right shoulder looked as if it had suffered a terrible mauling under the strap of the tank top shirt.

Just what had the fox endured to gain such damage?

Judy knew that ZIA agents often encountered terribly dangerous situations. But Skye looked as if parts of her, like her legs and her feet, had been deliberately cut upon! He shoulder bore slashes that had to have come from claws of a larger predator… And Nick had said that she’d been a prisoner for six years. Serendipity only knew what the snowy vixen had endured. Despite the threat that she posed, Judy felt her attitude towards the intruder to her happiness shifting ever so slightly. Even with the little bit of damage that Skye had bared with her choice of clothing, Judy found her more than sufficiently attractive. What horrors lurked in her past? 

More importantly, why did she feel a strange urge to hold the vixen and comfort her?

Judy shook her head and padded silently to the kitchen area and placed the two six packs of beer in small mammal sized bottles in the fridge before closing the door and removing her equipment belt. When the doe moved to hang it up in its usual place she stopped cold and looked once more at the fox. It was Nick’s pillow under her head, Skye’s muzzle buried into the softness as if she were drinking in the red fox’s scent with every breath. Another surge of indignation flitted through her causing Judy’s nose to twitch as her tail puffed in irritation and she felt her paws tighten involuntarily to extend her tiny claws. Closing her eyes and taking several deep inhalations, Judy counted to ten three times before feeling her body relax as she forced the tension from her shoulders and back. Unfortunately when she opened her eyes again it was to find the vixen regarding her with eyes that were a deep sapphire color.

Couldn’t anything about the vixen be…well…ordinary?

Several things that she wanted to say dashed through Judy’s mind, everything from a simple ‘Hello,’ to a hatred laced tirade of purest spite and malice were subsequently dismissed. In the end the bunny settled on a simple question.

“Wanna beer?” Judy asked in a soft tone laced with resignation that softened her expression even further.

* * *

Skye slept very deeply, her exhaustion driving her to the slumber of the dead.  Normally a light sleeper who woke at the slightest of changes in her environment—partly a fact of her training and partly a factor of her imprisonment—Skye slept through the whole day, not rousing when mammals made a ruckus in the hall, twice, coming home from school and then from work.  She didn’t even wake when the door to this very apartment opened and a mammal moved about the place. 

She did begin to notice the person even through the depth of her sleep, the fresh scent of rabbit piercing the fog of her dreams.  Then the sound of the refrigerator opening and closing drove her to consciousness, and she opened her eyes.  Skye looked over the arm of the couch toward the kitchen to see the grey bunny from yesterday.  The bunny stood there in blatant fury, her eyes closed, body rigid, and paws clenched into tight fists.

Skye noted somewhat distantly in her sleep-muddled mind that she didn’t know rabbits were so territorial.

Skye was nothing if not cautious, and that caution was tempered into what one could argue was paranoia through her training and then subsequent imprisonment.  Thus when she saw the hatred and fury in the bunny’s face she reached silently under the pillow to grasp her sidearm, which she pulled out and placed barrel first against the arm of the couch, concealed from the rabbit but pointing directly at her through the furniture.  Skye knew the rabbit had every right to be upset; she would be too, truth be told.  But Skye would be damned if she’d let the fierce little ball of power kill her without a fight.

The moment passed.  Judy’s tension was pushed away and Skye watched as the bunny forced herself to relax, and when the bunny opened her eyes it was a look of sufferance touched with sorrow and…something else, something Skye couldn’t name.  Then she opened her mouth, took a breath, and spoke.  Skye braced herself for the declaration of hate, for the request that she leave, for…something.

“Wanna beer?” asked Judy softly.

Nick felt as if his feet were encased in lead as he reached the door, shifting the two paper bags redolent with the smell of Chinese food to one arm and reached for the knob to the heavy apartment door and pushed it open. The red fox was unsure what he’d find as it turned and he pushed forward. Would there be a glaring match, sniping with words, or had the two females already escalated to physical blows? 

Instead of the fight that he truly expected to find, Judy was in the kitchen, a watery attempt at a friendly smile on her face, though the expression was washed out by the body language that the bunny projected, her ears and posture one of acknowledging defeat when that wasn’t the case in the slightest.

It was Skye that caused the greatest amount of concern as she held her pistol behind the arm of the couch, the barrel pointing directly at Nick’s fiancée even though Judy couldn’t see the weapon. While the red fox understood the why of the vixen’s response, it was daunting to realize the danger that the bunny was in.

“Skye? Can you not do that?” the red fox said in a tone that he hoped was lighter than the knot of renewed nerves at the potential for disaster he felt in his gut. Like so often over the past few years, he fell back on humor in an attempt to defuse. “Put your toys away and come have some supper.”

The looks that he received from the vixen and rabbit were sardonic and confused respectively. Deciding that at the moment it would be best to ignore both as he stepped to the small dining table and deposited the bags before pulling out the different cartons and tubs with small packets of soy and duck sauce.

“Carrots? Can you snag the plates? I’ll take a beer, too.” The red fox set the containers in the center. “So, lo mein, both vegetarian and one with shrimp, Szechuan green beans, spring rolls…you still like egg drop soup, right, Skye? The stir fry shoots are for Judy, though she normally doesn’t mind sharing.”

Nick turned to look at both the vixen and bunny when no one answered or moved and sighed as his head fell forward. His paw went to his snout and rubbed at it with the beginnings of a headache.

“Okay. This is going to be awkward for all of us, but can we all agree to be congenial and civilized as we work this out?” Nick pleaded softly until a snort of laughter came from the couch and caused him to look at the vixen who was giving him an amused look. “Skye,” he grumbled, “I’m tired, I’m stressed, and I’m hungry, and believe it or not even I learned to behave. So, can we just sit down and eat? Please?”

Skye sighed and sat up, wincing at the heavy burn and ache in her shoulder.  “I can’t have alcohol, it reacts badly with my pain medication.”  She set her sidearm gently on the glass coffee table next to the face down prom picture of her and Nick and the framed photo of Nick and Judy at the water garden, and then rummaged around in her old beat-up backpack for the prescription bottle.  “I could use some water, though, I missed a dose when I went comatose this afternoon.”  She knew her voice was likely colored with the intense pain of her healing shoulder, though she did her best to control it and not let on that she was in any discomfort.

Skye looked at the framed photo again while Nick fetched a glass of water.  She would be blind to miss how much they loved each other in the photo, and it was obvious even through the tension between them now.  She wondered how long it would take for her sorrow to die.

She took the offered glass of water from Nick without a word with her left hand, her right arm tucked gingerly into her side, and she took one of the fox-sized pills.  Then she stood and looked down at herself.  She was barely more than naked, which didn’t bother her and wouldn’t bother Nick…but given her status as guest and third wheel it would be appropriate to change.

Skye sighed again.  “I feel like I should change into something less…revealing.  But I don’t have anything else that’s clean, I haven’t been able to afford clothes yet.”

Despite her conflicted state regarding the white fox, Judy couldn’t help but feel a little guilty and knew what it was like to be so out of place. She lowered the brown glass bottle, swallowing the malty brew with a bit more abandon than she’d intended. “Don’t worry about it,” the bunny rasped slightly as her eyes narrowed with the discomfort of forcing the beer down and gestured to the table. “We can get you something after we eat. Nick’s right. We could all do with something hot in us.”

Nick stood stock still during the brief exchange. His eyes flicked back and forth between the two females, still waiting for some sort of spark to set the powder keg of a situation off. He let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding when Skye acquiesced to Judy’s invitation and stepped up to the table, the glass of water still in her left paw. He sat down as the others took their seats and started doling out the different offerings. When Judy turned to Skye Nick nearly dropped the container of soup.

“We…we have a couple of days off,” the bunny said as she stared at her plate of green beans with sesame seeds. “We could…um…we…I mean you…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nervousness. “I’ll go shopping with you so we can get you some things, Skye.”

The offer caused the ghost of a smile to tease at the corners of the white fox’s mouth as the three let the tension between them dissipate enough to eat. The meal was silent, Judy even getting up to get a fork for her and Nick’s guest as she had trouble with the bamboo chopsticks. It was a small thing, but it caused Nick to nod imperceptibly with pride and approval at how well his partner was handling the situation and tried to show how impressed he was with a gentle touch to the bunny’s knee under the table. The contact had a bit of the opposite effect, though, and caused Judy to drop not only the pinch of sprouts, but sent the chopsticks flying as well.

“Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick!” Judy admonished in a whisper before shaking her head in chagrin. Just as her fiancée opened his mouth to apologize the doe leaned back, her entire body shaking silently as she laughed at herself. When she drew in a much needed breath, snorting in the process, it was enough to cause the two foxes to start laughing as well.

They all finished their meal, the few leftovers going into the refrigerator and Nick volunteering to take care of the few dishes and pieces of silverware while Judy led the white fox into the area that held the couple’s bed, dressers and chest-of-drawers to find something for Skye. 

It was painfully obvious that the vixen wouldn’t be able to wear any of Judy’s clothing, even her largest, baggiest shirts, and the bunny took to rooting through Nick’s clothing before snapping her fingers. “Hold on. I’ve got the perfect thing,” she said and darted to a small closet that was filled with rabbit sized clothing, most of the garments consisting of ZPD uniforms and rummaged further back before pulling a hideous light green and floral print shirt. “I know this one will fit.”

“Oh, no…no!” Nick lamented from the kitchen area as he saw his bunny pull out a shirt that he’d thought had long since been thrown away. “Really, Carrots? That shirt?”

“Yes,” Judy replied challengingly. “That shirt!”

At Skye’s obvious confusion, Judy nodded towards the button down. “That was the shirt that Nick was wearing when I first met him,” she said, her eyes taking on a slightly distant look as she recalled the tumultuous days of their first meeting were running through her head. “He and his friend…do you know Finnick? Yeah,” she said with a smirk at Skye’s nod, “they were running a hustle and that was the shirt Nick was wearing. At least it’s not as bad as the dark blue and red striped tie he had on as well. At first I thought that maybe Nick was color blind. I didn’t know that it was part of the scam.” She held it out for the vixen. “I wear it when…” Judy began before trailing off. “Well, no matter. You can throw it on until we can hit a store or two tomorrow.”

Skye mumbled something in response and tried to slip the shirt on so that she would have a little more concealment for modesty’s sake and out of deference to the rabbit until her shoulder seized up and a hot lance of pain ran all the way down her spine to the tip of her tail.

Though the fox hid it well, Judy had seen enough mammals try to mask their pain enough to recognize that it was all Skye could do not to yelp. She’d had her own share of injuries and knew that while many of the scars the vixen bore were a few years old, the ones on her shoulder were very recent. There were the jagged lines of claws, but there were also the precise incisions indicating surgery. Even the fur hadn’t had time to fully grow back to hide the damage fully, further testament to a recent ordeal under a scalpel.

Also, there was something about Skye’s fur that nagged at Judy’s brain, something that she was missing, but whatever it might be, it eluded the bunny as she was more concerned about helping the vixen than sussing out a minor mystery. Skye might be competition, and not quite the enemy for her fox’s affections, but Judy was actually a rather empathetic individual.

“Blessed Serendipity,” the doe whispered with a furrowing of her eyebrows. “What the hell was done to you?”

Skye folded, and it was only the bunny’s quick paws gently but firmly grabbing her round her torso that prevented Skye from hitting the ground hard.  Judy eased the fox down into a kneel on the ground as Skye growled loudly to prevent whimpering.

It occurred to both women at the same moment—albeit distantly to Skye—that one of Judy’s paws had planted directly on Skye’s subtle bust.

Skye lay there, her legs folded under her and forehead pressed into the hardwood floor, breathing deeply and slowly while Judy knelt next to her and tentatively rubbed the base of her neck.  After a long minute the growl faded away with the bulk of the pain and Skye mumbled into the floor almost brokenly.

“Too much,” responded Skye at last.  “I, I, um.  I think I need to explain better.  To you both.”  Skye stood shakily with Judy’s help, and they spent the next moment very carefully putting the garish shirt on and buttoning it.  Skye was noticeably smaller than Nick so the shirt was more of an over-large dress but it did cover the bulk of her body.  She couldn’t help but notice how gingerly, how gently Judy touched her, as if Skye were…well, not an enemy.

Once she was dressed she murmured a quiet thanks to Judy without quite meeting her eye, then the pair moved to the living area, where Nick was already seated on the couch.

Judy regarded the red fox with mild puzzlement as he held the picture frame that had a photo of the two of them at the water park, neither one with a care in the world as they laughed with each other. In Nick’s other paw was a creased photo that the bunny didn’t remember seeing before and watched as his eyes flicked from one image to the other. Still, Judy said nothing as she helped Skye sit and fetched the glass that the vixen had had her water in, topping it off before bringing it back and handing it over.

When she sat down it was next to Nick, but without the normal contact that they shared. It was an unconscious decision, though it did enable the bunny to see the worn picture that he held. While younger it was easy to tell that the two in the photo were Nick and Skye. He looked absolutely handsome in his tuxedo while the vixen was absolutely beautiful in a blue formal gown. The expressions on their faces were nearly identical sly smirks, though their eyes, one set of pale sapphire, the other of emerald, held a sparkle that bespoke volumes of the feelings shared between them.

“You kept this all this time?” Nick whispered with a sort of wonder as he held the pictures, letting his gaze flicker between one then the other.

Once more feeling that her time with Nick was nearing the end, Judy started when Nick set both down on the coffee table before placing a paw on the bunny’s back, his thumb pad absently stroking up and down along her spine. It was a reassuring touch that bolstered her waning spirits, but the contact was also fairly noncommittal, nothing more and nothing less than something a friend would show another friend. It wasn’t until Skye sighed heavily that Judy turned to look at the snowy fox and the almost forlorn look in her eyes.

“’Come back to me,’” quoted Skye, reciting the short message on the back of the photo.  Conscious of Judy’s eyes on her, she reached over to where Nick had laid it on the table and gently flipped it face down again.  She would rather take the pain of the framed photo of him and Judy than the agony of remembering their prom.  “It helped, you know?  Sometimes it reminded me what was important.  I’ve done bad things for good reasons and more than once it…it wore on me.  The picture reminded me why I was working with the ZIA.  Why I was fighting.  It gave me something to work toward, a promise to keep.”

She put her head in her paws and her voice cracked.  “I broke that promise, Nick.  I’m so sorry.”

At the admission…what almost sounded like a confession, Judy froze, her nose twitching slightly. Sure, she and Nick both knew that the ZIA operated in areas that were questionable at best, legally and morally, at least from their perspective. Then again, they knew that the ZIA and it’s agents and operatives dealt with mammals far worse than the criminals that they faced. Definitely worse if the scars the vixen bore were any indication.

“You didn’t break your promise, Skye,” Nick whispered after several moments, though both females heard him clearly. “You were kept from it. That’s not the same as breaking it. Not in the slightest.”

Nick swallowed hard and closed his eyes until a sharp elbow to the ribs caused him to jerk his head up and his eyes open. Judy gave him a pointed look before flicking her ears from the position they had assumed most of the past twenty four hours of being pressed against her neck to the other fox. When he still didn’t get it Judy let out an exasperated sound. “Give her a hug, you idiot!” she hissed between her teeth. 

Skye snorted as she wiped her eyes.  “Nick has two modes.  Overly affectionate and snarky robot.  He’s always been that way.”  She adjusted her position, folding her legs underneath her and leaning on the arm of the couch.  “I have some things to explain to you two, and none of it is pretty.  It’s also extremely classified.  Tukisivinngaa?”

Nick simply nodded while Judy stared blankly at the vixen, one ear falling in confusion before she finally muttered a quizzical, “Huh?”

When he looked to Judy, the red fox couldn’t help but chortle in wry humor. “You’re doing it again, Skye,” he chided gently. 

“Huh?” said Skye, echoing Judy.  Then she realized what she said. “Oh, qù nǐ mā de.”

Nick snickered again.  “Skye grew up bilingual and is now proficient in several languages.  Including Panda, as you can see.”

“Stop talking, Nick,” grumbled Skye.  “All the details I’ll be telling you are classified.  Do you understand?”  When Judy nodded finally Skye took a deep, slow breath and began her story.

“Seven years ago, the ZIA got wind of a major shift in power in the city-state Tsavo-al-Simb.  It’s a desert nation on the other end of the globe, but the faction that took power were…well, they had a grudge against Zootopia and our allies.  It was a dangerous situation, and the ZIA began working to eliminate that faction’s power.  The lions of Tsavo-al-Simb are good people, generally, don’t misunderstand.  We didn’t want to go to war against them, especially if a quiet operation could end the threat without allied bloodshed. 

“I was brought into the operation not long before everything started happening.  I didn’t have a huge role, but it was an important one.  Unfortunately…something happened.  I don’t know exactly what and nobody told me when I was debriefed, but somebody dropped the ball and I was outed.  My cover was blown, while surrounded by several bad-tempered lionesses. 

“…needless to say it was an unpleasant afternoon.  I managed to get away at first, but I was in a hostile city with no surviving backup so they managed to track me down.  I was in their custody by nightfall.  They locked me in a small room and interrogated me, beat me up, interrogated me some more…I was trained to withstand interrogation so they didn’t get far.  I didn’t know the situation outside the compound so I had no way of knowing if there was a rescue operation in progress or if the ZIA cut their losses.  I assumed the latter.”

Skye shifted in her seat a little and took a breath.  “The lionesses were sadists who had no idea how to conduct a proper interrogation.  You don’t _torture_ people who have information you want.  When people are being tortured they’ll tell you anything to stop the pain, even if it’s untrue.  Torture is unreliable at best.  Amateurs, the lot of them.”

She shook her head.  “Anyway, for….I don’t know how long, days?  A week?  I was beaten and questioned, questioned and beaten…a doctor treated me once, but only to keep me conscious.  When it became clear I wasn’t going to tell them anything they locked me in my room and left me alone.  A few days later, some males came in and very nicely asked me to tell them everything I knew about the ZIA.  Access codes, plans in Tsavo-al-Simb, all of it.  I refused, so they… _sated_ themselves upon me.  Did you know male lions’ genitals are barbed?  I didn’t. 

“A pattern emerged.  They’d torture me for a few days.  Cut me, burn me, nearly drown me.  Whatever they felt like doing.  Ask me questions.  Anything from weapons access codes to my favorite color.  Then their doctors would treat me, keep me alive.  When not being treated or tortured they kept me in solitary confinement.  Once I was healthy enough to endure more, they’d do more.  Sometimes they’d leave me in solitary for weeks at a time, probably hoping I’d go slowly insane. They deprived me of food and water when it suited them.

“Eventually I realized that they couldn’t have _needed_ the information they wanted anymore.  It had been months.  They could have used information I had, certainly, but it wasn’t critical anymore.  It didn’t change much, of course.  The routine kept going.  About once or twice a month the males would come, but mostly it was the same six lionesses the whole time.

“I escaped a few times.  Didn’t get far. They always punished me dearly for it.  The first time I escaped, when they recovered me they beat me so badly that my heart stopped.  The doctor took nine minutes to revive me.  Three more times I escaped, three more times I ended up clinically dead in their interrogation room.  The last time, I told them everything I knew.  Most of the information I had I couldn’t even remember through the emotional and physical toll, but I told them what I could remember, and I begged them to let me stay dead.”

Skye’s voice had been clinical, almost cold to this point, but she stopped as the emotions started to leak through.  Judy and Nick stared at her with various levels of concern and horror.  Skye ignored it and took a deep steadying breath.  “A week later, I overheard a conversation.  They thought I was unconscious.  At the time…they’d broken me.  I just wanted it all to end.  But then I heard the date.”

She looked at Nick with a heavy expression.  “It was June seventeenth, Nick.”

Nick felt his stomach clench as it filled with a nauseous dread and he swallowed hard several times to keep his supper down. He was still faced towards Skye, but he wasn’t really looking at her, more of just letting his vision unfocus to the point that he was looking through his oldest friend as he acclimated to what she said.

Judy, however, her fur darkened with tears turned her head rapidly from one to the other, her throat tight as she digested what had been told, a sort of icy lump in her chest. “June…the seventeenth…? Nick’s birthday? I don’t understand…” She watched as the open muzzled look on the red fox’s face changed slightly, the hint of his old smarm and smug self coming out for a second.

“It was what you needed, wasn’t it?” Nick asked, though it sounded more of a statement. He was still a little off kilter at the casual mention of her repeated abuse and rape, but that was pushed to a small back corner of his mind. “Sly vixen,” he told her with a nod and wink. When Judy continued to stare at the two of them in turns he explained it to her. “If you were in the worst situation possible, and you heard something, or had a memory set off about something…or someone important, would that hurt you, or motivate you?”

It took the doe a second before her eyes brightened in understanding and her head whipped around. As she looked at Skye there was no trace of her earlier animosity or fear. Instead there was admiration for something that she could understand. 

“You came back for Nick!” Judy whispered in awe. 

Skye wanted so badly to gaze at Nick, but her own idle fidgeting reminded her of the shirt she was wearing, what had once been Nick’s…but which was saturated only with the scent of rabbit.  She idly fiddled with the collar with her left paw and gazed instead into Judy’s eyes.  She spoke directly to Judy, with more emotion, more pain, more _warmth_ than she had shown at all since Nick left her in the little shack in the Rainforest District.  She wanted Judy personally to understand what had been at stake.  To understand how deeply Skye felt.

She wanted her to understand how much Skye was giving her, freely and with no bitterness.

“He was all I had left.  My mother has been gone for years, I had no siblings.  No other friends outside the intelligence community.  When I heard the date, I decided that I deserved to see the fox I loved again.  Just once more.  So I fought.  I thought I had been at the last of my strength, but somehow I got free one last time.  Even when they chased me and my legs shook I kept running.  Even when one of them got close enough to cripple my shoulder…I kept going. 

“I don’t even remember contacting the ZIA.  I don’t remember getting out of the city. But somehow I did.  For three years they kept me and tortured me and broke me, and at long last I was free of them.”

Skye kept gazing at Judy, her expression becoming reflective.  “I was still a prisoner, of course.  My mind was shattered, my body broken.  It took the better part of a year to repair my body, nearly three years to repair my mind, and my shoulder might _still_ need surgery and will probably never work right again, but finally…after six years…I’m free. 

“I didn’t expect Nick to be…” Skye smiled ruefully.  “You polished him, Judy.  You shaped him into the fox I always knew he could be.  You did what I couldn’t.”  Skye reached across Nick and grasped Judy’s paw in hers, then brought it over and joined Judy’s paw in Nick’s.  She let go and drew back. 

“I wanted to see him smile just one more time.  He smiles for _you_.”

The words the white vixen said with tenderness, with softness born of a deep love pounded at Judy. 

Skye had been through so much more than the bunny believed she was capable of enduring, all for the fox that both of them loved. Skye had turned that love into resolve, into a drive that Judy didn’t know if she could match. As her paw was placed in Nick’s, Judy’s vision wavered and became filled with stars as her eyes filled with tears that wouldn’t stop. Before the vixen could withdraw the doe’s fingers wrapped around Skye’s wrist and brought her paw to theirs, holding it so that it rested on hers and Nick’s as she began to shake her head. The gesture was enough to cause the tears that flowed steadily to fly in sparkling droplets. She had to swallow several times past the emotional constriction in her throat before she could force her voice out, the words coming as barely intelligible tight sobs.

“I…I-I-I c-can’t…” the bunny squeaked before closing her amethyst eyes. “I can’t let you slip away out his life. N-not after all that…not after the th-things you…” Judy looked at the vixen and lifted her chin defiantly. “I…he…” The bunny took a deep breath and let it out, trying to let go of her jealousy and animosity. 

It almost worked.

“I love him,” Judy finally said. “Bu-but you love him, too.” She watched as Skye admitted to that with a slight nod, her eyes wide and as naked and vulnerable as the bunny felt. “I swore I would never tell Nick who he could be friends with. You’re his oldest friend. I…I want you to be a part of his life, too.”

There. She said it. It might not have been as bad as throwing up a white flag of surrender, but it felt like it.

Nick watched, knowing full well just what all of the brutal honesty had cost everyone. In what had become typical Nick fashion he slid from the couch so that his knees rested on the floor and for one of the few times in his life had no desire for some snarky remark. Instead he slipped his arms around the two females that meant the most to him and pulled each, despite their reluctance, closer as he fought the surge of emotions deep in his own chest. Holding his head up so that his tears wouldn’t land on either, Nick prayed that maybe this could help all of them heal from the wounds of the heart and soul that were invisible, but no less severe. 

The evening had been physically and emotionally draining and after composing themselves, Judy got the couch ready for Skye, at the vixen’s insistence, with spare sheets and a light blanket. She also let the second pillow that the vixen had borrowed earlier stay where it was. With mumbled good-nights the bunny let her fiancée lead her to their bed after changing into a T-shirt and sighed as Nick wrapped his arms around her, his chin nestling into its normal place between her ears.

Despite the tumble of the day’s events running through her mind, Judy was unable to stave off sleep and within moments was sound asleep. Nick, too, felt the events of the past twenty four hours catching up and breathing deep his bunny’s scent pulled Judy deeper into the hollow of his body as his own eyes fluttered shut.

When the rustle of cloth-on-cloth came from the couch as well as the slight squeak of wood and springs came with the vixen getting up, neither stirred, their breathing deep and even as Nick and Judy held onto each other in a manner that clearly indicated their love and reliance on the other.

* * *

 

Skye watched the other two retreat to the bedroom area and laid across the bed listening to them get ready and settle in.  It had been a very trying day already and she had only been awake for a couple hours.  Skye expected to be leaving forever tonight, but Judy’s unexpected kindness had struck her deeply.  She reflected on it for a long while as the apartment quieted, and by the time late evening had given way to early morning she’d come to a conclusion. 

She didn’t want to be a burden. 

Very quietly so as to not wake the others, Skye carefully eased out of the shirt that had been given her.  She folded it neatly and laid it on the coffee table, then did the same with the sheets and blanket she’d been lent, and finally she slipped on the trousers she’d removed earlier in the day.  They were dirty, but they’d do for the time being. 

Lastly, Skye finished off her portion of the dinner and grabbed a couple of the bottles of water she’d bought, stowing them in her bag before putting her sidearm away and shouldering the bag.  She gave one last look back toward the couple entwined with each other before silently slipping out of the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a little exposition-y, I know. There wasn't really an easy way around it, sorry. BUT! New chapter! And more than six _thousand_ words! So yeah, Selaxes is back and so is this story. Selaxes expresses his gratitude for all the comments and views (as do I) and we both want to say this has been really fun, and we're both thrilled to be working with a writer we admire (not sure I deserve admiration personally but I'll take it :P).
> 
> So Skye's first linquistic hiccup was the Inuit language meaning "do you understand me?" and the other linguistic thing was...one or the other of the chinese languages. Thanks to Notactualusername for his help with the chinese.
> 
> Also, the picture at the start of the chapter is another wonderful piece done by Softlight289, she's wonderful. You should all follow her on Tumblr! Please feel free to leave comments or reviews, we love seeing them.


	5. Conclusions

Not waking up to the trilling screech of the alarm was an odd sensation. Even on days off Judy would set the alarm to keep Nick from sleeping all day, particularly in the winter when foxes shifted from a diurnal to a nocturnal circadian rhythm. Thus waking up on his own was an unaccustomed luxury and he blinked his eyes a couple of times to clear the combined gritty and gummy feeling, the rawness partly from the emotional rollercoaster of the night before and settled back into his pillows. A bundle of soft warmth along his side brought a smile to the red fox’s muzzle and he shifted a little to nestle against Judy for a few relaxing moments until his bladder forced him out of bed.

Fortunately he and his bunny had had the foresight to purchase and install custom blinds on the studio apartment’s windows so that even well after sun-up the domicile was in a comfortable twilight. It was something that his slightly aching head was grateful for. Barely drifting back into that not quite awake state that was so delicious, the world intruded on Nick’s reverie with a vengeance. His bladder refused to relent, the pressure becoming too intense while his eyes snapped open not with something he heard, but something that wasn’t heard.

Moving as carefully as possible to let Judy continue sleeping, Nick rolled off the bed, shuffling as quickly as he could to the bathroom, his tired eyes darting to the couch where he pointedly did not hear Skye. Out of all the times that they had simply slept together, and doing nothing else, the vixen would emit the soft, high chirring sound that foxes made when they were comfortable and content and safe. It was a sound that Nick had always enjoyed hearing, just one of those few good things that he could recall from the old days. Fortunately Judy made a similar noise sometimes, just one of the many things that he loved about his bunny.

As Nick stood over the toilet, one paw supporting himself on the tiled wall, he let his body handle its necessary functions while his sleep-addled mind churned things over. 

The couch hadn’t looked quite right, but then again Nick had had more pressing matters to take care of. Then there was the position that he was in. He’d heard so many mammals joke about being with more than one female at a time, the quips little more than typical male boasting and locker room innuendo. Now, here he was in precisely that position and was in a form of hell as he genuinely loved both Judy and Skye. 

Judy had swept in and saved the fox from himself, showing him the light in his own personal darkness and pulled him from the morass of a life that had become bleak and joyless. The little rabbit from Bunnyburrow had challenged him, dared him to be a better mammal. Judy had touched things that he thought had died and turned to dust inside him. But they weren’t dead, as Nick found out. Just asleep. Judy had helped him wake up and somewhere along the line he’d fallen in love with her. His surprise and joy when those feelings were reciprocated hauled the fox the rest of the way into the light.

And with Judy he had thrived.

Nick had only been in love once before, and the recipient of that love had showed up not even forty eight hours ago. The one mammal that had been with him through thick and thin, had helped heal the wounds of growing up and he’d done the same for, the vixen that had so completely disappeared and left him a wreck had come back. Skye had been his friend, his support, and like an idiot he’d thrown away what could’ve been because of pride and greed. She’d come back looking for him, the fox she said had kept her alive, had given her hope, had been her star in the blackest of night.

And Nick, in a moment of clarity and complete, painful honesty with himself, realized that his heart was torn in two between the females that had been central to the defining moments of his life. He loved both.

And it was killing him.

Nick tripped the lever and stepped to the sink, washing his paws automatically with the melon scented soap that Judy loved before staggering into the kitchen. At least he’d had the foresight to set up the coffee pot the night before and punched the button before turning to the living room area.

Seeing the folded blanket on the couch with the sheet also rendered into a precise square, one that would have made his instructors in the Academy proud, Nick felt part of him crack and shatter. He hadn’t heard Skye because she was pointedly not there. Even her clothing and backpack were gone with no sign that she had ever been there just hours before. 

It was too much like the time before, and despite knowing that she was at least alive, the fox’s chest clenched painfully, Nick’s lungs refusing to draw air as he fought the constriction that threatened to close his throat. The scruffy feeling of his eyes was remedied by the tears that welled but were dashed away before they could fall while behind him the coffee pot burbled on heedless of the turmoil its owner was experiencing.

There was no telling how long the black elixir sat ready before Nick was pulled out of his contemplation of the empty couch and living room with the emergence of Judy from where their bed sat. She was far less clumsy than he was when she first woke, her steps oddly graceful, almost mincing, each footfall causing her hips to roll enticingly as she rubbed at her eyes with balled up paws.

“Morning!” the bunny said with her usual morning perkiness until she saw that her fiancé was staring at the couch and glanced that way. “Where’s Skye?” Judy inquired softly, her expression pinching into a quizzical look.

Nick shook his head, his voice quavering as he finally managed to whisper an answer. 

“Gone…”

That one word did more to finish rousing the bunny than any cup of coffee could and her ears snapped straight up before falling along the back of her neck like a wilting flower. “Gone?” she husked, stepping quickly from the kitchen area to the couch, her amethyst eyes taking in the folded coverings and pillow. 

There was no note, no indication if this was permanent or not, though the lack of her backpack was a fair indication that the vixen was most likely not returning. Even the picture frame of her and Nick had been replaced and if not for the few strands of too white fur that clung to the green fabric on the couch the vixen might not have been there at all.

Judy turned to look at her partner, her eyes wide and brows furrowed into a hurt frown. “I…I thought that she…that we…”

“I know,” Nick said as the bunny stumbled on her words. With a sigh he turned to the coffee pot, automatically pulling down his and Judy’s favorite mugs and set them down quickly before he could throw them at the floor in anger and dejection. He leaned heavily on the counter and willed his heart and breath to steady so as not to upset his Carrots.

“But…well, god dammit, Nick! Why?!” She came back into the kitchen wringing her paws in chagrin. “Was it…did I do something wrong? Was it because of me?”

Shaking his head as he folded his arms around the doe, Nick drew what comfort he could from her. “I honestly don’t know, Carrots. I just don’t know.”

* * *

Skye strode along the sidewalk with energy she’d been lacking lately.  She’d gotten some good sleep the afternoon prior—not enough to make up for her exhaustion entirely but enough to give her a lovely burst of  energy which she was happy to use.  She had plans for the following few days, and Judy Hopps had changed those plans.  She was now having to scramble to make up for it; she’d need much more cash on-hand now that things had been altered so much.  She didn’t blame the bunny, of course.  Officer Hopps was a very good person with a big heart.  Too big, perhaps. 

Skye’s new list of tasks included shaking down several mammals for money.  It wouldn’t be theft; each and every one of them owed her for favors done previously, after all.  The trick would be to convince them to pay up without taking a bullet.  Fortunately most of them used to be friends, if you could call them that—and Skye wouldn’t, normally—and so the danger was relatively minor.  Each of the easy ones were at the top of the list and she approached them first, getting what she was owed without any significant trouble, though the weasel gunrunner Barry tried his damnedest to get Skye to meet his wife and children and have an early dinner with them.  She was only able to get away with the promise of returning soon, and as she left his apartment she couldn’t help but to remember why she used to try to avoid the overly-friendly guy.

There were a couple contacts, the ones who owed her the most, who couldn’t be called friends no matter how generous you were being, however.  Such as Killian, a badger working for Mr. Big as a money launderer.  Killian was quite the aggressively mean little snot, stereotypically so, and Skye had never really liked working with him. Approaching him cold like this filled her with a certain dread, and she made sure her pistol was prominently displayed, tucked into the front of her trousers as she entered his place of work.

He ran a money changing shop as a front for his laundering, exchanging non-Zootopian currencies for Zootopian bucks and different sized cash, such as rodent-sized bills for canine-sized.  The badger barely looked up as she entered the building, jotting down notes for something or other.

“Expected you yesterday,” said the badger in his distinctive raspy voice.  “Got word you were coming back into town, figured you’d be calling in debts.”

He reached under the counter and brought out a stack of bills, sliding it across the counter, then glanced briefly up at her.  “You can put the gun away,” he said, looking back at his notebooks.  “I don’t like owing people shit so I won’t be giving you a hard time until you leave.”

Skye took the stack of bills and stowed it in her bag with the rest of the cash she’d gathered, and chuckled.  “You’ve gotten soft in your old age, Killian.  Last time I spoke to you I think you threatened to cook me into a stew…and I was doing a _job_ for you.”

“Piss off,” snapped Killian, turning his gold eyes on her.  “Get out of my shop, Fed.”

“Charming as always,” muttered Skye as she turned and left.  She checked the time on her way to her last destination and, deciding she had the time, she stopped off at her favorite donut shop.  It was expensive, but the ten grand in her bag was more than enough to cover it.

* * *

There was little conversation between the fox and bunny as they sipped their coffee, Nick pouring a second before Judy was finished with her first, each trying to sort out their feelings at finding Skye gone. They were especially pensive after the events of the night before and the confessions. For Nick it was too much like the moment in the past when the Arctic fox didn’t come home, that same sort of hollow dread lodging in the space between his heart and stomach. For Judy it was almost a betrayal, the rabbit having readied herself to cede her fox to his oldest friend because it seemed right.

Finally finishing her morning brew, Judy silently went to their bedroom area and began sorting the laundry that needed to be washed, putting personal clothing in one pile while uniforms went into another to be done separately. A day off was a day that they didn’t have to be police officers, but that didn’t mean there weren’t chores that could be ignored. In truth the bunny was thankful for something even as mind numbing as basic domestic chores, so long as she could keep her paws busy. 

Nor was she the only one that felt that way as Nick busied himself in the rest of the apartment, wiping down every surface possible with cleaning cloths. Both had found that in the warmer portions of the year if they didn’t stay on top of things their combined shed fur could make a right mess of their apartment. It was enough that they’d confessed to being a touch jealous of some of the furless mammals of the city, though a good dusting and vacuuming every week with touch-ups in between kept the loose fur from becoming a potential disaster.

Delving into the simple exercises of domestic life, both mammals missed the sound of the door being unlocked and opening with the sound of the upright vacuum engaged and didn’t react until they saw the flash of white fur of a tail preceding Skye into the apartment. She backed into the apartment, nudging the door open with her rump and then catching the door with a foot so that it didn’t slam before turning around. The two bags of Ambrosius’ Delightful Donuts in flowing script on the white paper clutched in her paws the reason why the vixen had entered in such an awkward manner. The smile on Skye’s muzzle faltered when she noticed the morose bearing of the two mammals in the apartment.

In fact, if anything, Nick and Judy looked a little hurt and sore. Instead of saying anything, the vixen held up the bags and shook them just enough to rattle the paper with a very kittish grin. 

Skye waited until the vacuum was turned off so she could be heard before speaking.  “I brought breakfast!” said Skye cheerfully.  The silence that followed caused Skye’s grin to falter.  “What…what’s going on?  What happened?”

Nick simply stared at the vixen for a long moment before clicking the handle into place and going to the kitchen, his head shaking back and forth slightly as his tail bristled. He didn’t see the confused and concerned look cast at him from blue eyes and yanked the pot off the hot plate and poured another cup for himself. As this was happening Judy came from the bedroom section in bounding steps as she cast a slight admonishing frown at Nick.

“We woke up and you weren’t here,” Judy said softly. “I…I thought I did something wrong but…well, Nick…he said it was like last time. It kinda shook us both because there was no note and everything was tidied up…”

The rabbit trailed off and gave the taller fox a look that was a mix of different emotions and watched as she set the bags on the table before shucking her back pack. 

Skye was very careful to not throw her bag down, not just because it had fragile equipment inside but also because such a display of temper would be childish and immature.  Her look of concern faded into a grimace of irritation and she shot a pointed look at Nick, remaining silent until he looked back at her. 

“It’s not even seven in the morning yet.  What the hell kind of diurnal fox gets up before eight on a _day off_ , Nick?”  She carefully moved across the apartment with measured steps, fiddling with her keychain as she went, and when she was nose-to-nose with Nick she slapped a key on the counter with more force than was strictly necessary.  “And I _had your key_.  That should have been clue _one_ that I was coming back.”  She visibly stopped herself from continuing, partly because her voice was raising in volume and becoming colored with indignation, and partly because she knew her next words would be hurtful and nothing else.

Nick stepped away from the counter, his face unreadable, and set his cup down on the table. When he looked back up it was easy to see that Skye was tensing, waiting for a retort, and he didn’t blame her. There was a time in their shared past where he really did have a rather volatile temper. When the vixen started to open her mouth once more she was stunned into silence when the pad of his finger lightly brushed her lips before coming to a rest in an effort to silence Skye. Then, the corners of his mouth twitching, Nick slipped his arms around the white fox and simply held her.

It was easy to feel the trembling that ran through the tod’s body as he held her, the gesture doing more to divert Skye’s rising ire. It was so unexpected that all she could do was stand there in stunned silence, her eyes widening a little as she was held in a gentle but firm embrace.

“Bunnies,” he said softly. “They’ve corrupted me into this morning thing.” Nick took a deep breath but didn’t let go, if anything his hug becoming a little tighter while still being cautious of her shoulder. “They’ve also made me more emotional and unstable. Terrible, I know. But I just got you back and there wasn’t anything to indicate you were coming back. I guess things are still to fresh and raw and I got a little scared, okay?”

Nick pulled back so that he could look into the glacial blue eyes that darkened as he watched, a genuine smile gracing his muzzle.

“Sorry I freaked,” the red fox finally said. His smile faltered a bit and a hint of sadness darkened his eyes. “I still don’t have many friends, Skye. But I’ve learned to value the ones I’ve got. Maybe you could leave a note next time?”

“Please?” Judy added to the request, stepping up to the two foxes as her paw came to rest on the small of the vixen’s back, not low enough to be considered untoward, but definitely something more than just amicable as her fingers stroked the thick fur under the vixen’s shirt. 

Feeling Judy’s paw on her back, Skye finally relaxed out of her surprised wide-armed tense stance.  It wasn’t in the way Nick expected, however:  she saw the flicker of disappointment in his eyes as her paws gently but firmly pressed against his chest, separating them from the very-nearly-kissing nose to nose embrace to a more chaste arm’s length.  She took a deep breath in an effort to slow her racing heart and prevent herself from hyperventilating, then swallowed as she broke eye contact from Nick to glance down at Judy—or more accurately, at the tiny paw that was working its way gingerly, almost sensuously, through Skye’s fur.  Judy stared at the point where their bodies contacted with an odd expression, her mouth a delicate “o” and her nose twitching idly.

“It’s fifty bucks an hour for fondling,” said Skye in an attempt at humor; her voice instead came out ever so slightly hoarse and stammering.

“Oh!” the rabbit exclaimed as she yanked her paw back as if it had brushed something hot. Her ears and nose both turned a darker shade of pink in embarrassment as her head dipped down between her shoulders as she realized that her fingers had traveled to the base of the vixen’s tail. It was such an automatic thing with Nick that she hadn’t really been paying attention and done the same to Skye. Fox tails were sensitive to say the least, and what Judy had unconsciously done was a very intimate display with the vixen. “I’m so sorry!” the bunny whispered in mortification. “Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!”

Both foxes watched as Judy grabbed her own ears and yanked them down over her face to hide, the display actually rather…cute. Though the bunny would protest, though not as vehemently as she used to about the use of the C-word, it was still a sensitive issue, though there wasn’t any more apt description. 

As Skye moved back a little further, humor dancing in her eyes, Nick’s own nose twitched, though for a very different reason as he understood the sudden discomfiture of the vixen. With a slight smile at the faint hint of violets that wafted teasingly from the vixen, Nick moved back to the kitchen and pulled a third mug from an under-cabinet hook. “You still take it the same way, Snowball?”

As Judy peeked out from behind her ears as the two foxes tried to move past the awkward moment, sparing the bunny further embarrassment, she realized more than a few points about the white fox and tilted her head as fresh coffee was doled out. 

Skye was an Arctic fox, a fairly obvious fact, but in the summer and autumn, as it was now, Arctic foxes had grey fur; Skye’s was not only white, she still had the thick insulating undercoat. The second point was that from her unintentional exploration of the vixen’s tail, there was hardly any spare fat on the white vulpine, to the point that she was almost unhealthily thin.

The third, and perhaps the reason that Judy felt her ears heat up again to the point she was sure that they were going to burst into flame was that touching Skye had been…nice.

“Carrots? Do you want another cup to go with breakfast?” Nick asked as he held up her mug.

“Just a small glass of almond milk,” the rabbit said as she smiled at her red fox before turning her attention back to the white one, her gaze lingering a touch too long on the snowy brush that flicked lazily back and forth with hypnotic sensuality. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! Not what you expected, right?? >:D I've been having a lot of fun with this story and I'm so glad so many of you are too. Please don't hesitate to leave comments :)


	6. Definitions

Nick agreed to let Judy take Skye shopping, not sure how bright the acquiescence to the request was, but handed over the keys to their car with a look to both females to behave before hugging the white vixen with actual affection and Judy with the same warmth followed with a lingering kiss. As the vixen shouldered her backpack and Judy snagged her own shoulder bag, the accessory much more stylish, though still made of denim with a sturdy strap.

Skye noted with a practiced eye that Judy’s bag contained a police issue Tazer, a placard with her badge as well as her fold that contained ID, cash, credit and bank cards and a few feminine products. The vixen had to smile at the expected items the bunny should have and the things that were part of her job. The look on Judy’s face if she saw what was in the Arctic fox’s bag might be amusing but would also cause some consternation.

Judy held the door open and tried to put a friendly look on her face. “Ready?” she asked with a bright tone that had a slightly brittle edge to it.

“Sure.”

Bunny and vixen took the elevator to the ground floor, Judy leading the way. They exited the building and crossed the street to the public parking garage under another apartment building. Judy then directed Skye to a small hatchback in blue and silver that the vixen had to stop and stare at. “He still has this thing?” she asked with a sly smile.

“Little Blue?” Judy asked with a quirk of her muzzle. “Yeah. He spent a lot to get it restored. To be honest I thought it would be better to get a new car, but he refuses to get rid of it.”

Skye snorted in wry humor. “I wouldn’t count on it. The only time he ever worked a legitimate job, at least before becoming a cop, was to buy this car. It was such a piece of junk.” She watched as the bunny unlocked the car and got in before reaching across and doing the same for the fox, even tugging the handle and nudging it open a little. It was a Nick thing that the doe emulated and for some reason cut at Skye’s already tumultuous emotional state after the morning.

The interior had been redone, complete with upholstery and an updated stereo. When Nick had originally bought the beater of a car for two thousand bucks it had a radio that only got the WZNR news station and a cassette player that ate any tape that was put in it. Now it looked as well decked out with a new dash, seat covers and a stereo that had the latest in digital technology.

“It certainly smells better than it did,” Skye commented as she reached back for her seatbelt with her left arm. “When Nicky first got it, it smelled like someone let something die and rot along with mildew.

Judy chuckled before she realized that the vixen was serious. “So it smells better now?”

Skye only turned her head to look at the bunny, not wanting to tell Judy that it smelled like the apartment; a mix of fox and rabbit and…unfortunately, intimacy between the two. 

Yet another pointed reminder of where the vixen stood. “Yeah,” she replied distractedly. “So, we’re headed where exactly?”

“I found a shop that has a really good selection of things for small and medium mammals that isn’t too expensive. Then I was thinking maybe lunch. I…I think we…uh, you and I…we need to talk.”

The vixen nodded. “Yeah. We should talk,” Skye agreed and watched as Judy maneuvered the car out of the garage.

The trip into downtown was short, which was fortunate because it was also awkward and quiet.  Skye couldn’t get the faint but lingering scent of sex out of her nose, and not for the first time she wished her sense of smell wasn’t quite as keen as it was.  Skye and Nick in their many years of knowing each other had seen each other nude more times than they could count, had kissed more than a few times, and had kissed while nude on at least two distinct occasions…but that line between experimental excursions into intimacy and actual sexual contact had never been breached.  Still, Skye had been familiar enough with the scent of Nick’s arousal that smelling it mixed with Judy’s, even faded as it was, fueled a mix of sedated lust and emotional pain in the fox. 

That wasn’t to say Skye was a virgin; far from it.  Sex was a powerful tool in the spy’s arsenal, especially a female spy, but her experience only heightened the discomfort she felt in the car. 

Judy seemed to pick up on Skye’s discomfort, her nose twitching subtly and her eyes flicking across to peer at Skye occasionally, but if she knew the cause she gave no sign.  However, the sensory input caused certain natural physiological reactions in Skye, which Judy’s own sensitive nose clearly picked up. 

Skye glanced over at Judy finally as they drew to a stop in a parking lot, and Judy looked back at her, her violet eyes looking briefly down at Skye’s lap.  Judy’s ears darkened in a blush and the rabbit looked away again.

“I forget how sensitive rabbit noses are,” said Skye with an ease she didn’t really feel.  It was the first time she’d been alone with the bunny, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.  “It’s easy to think your sense of smell would be weaker, since you’re a prey species.”  She cocked her head to one side.  “Is that speciesist?”

Judy grinned.  “Yeah, a little.  But that’s okay, we all are sometimes.  You recognize it, that’s what’s important.”

They made their way to the shop, a cheerful place called Pawpurr’s Paradise.  The storefront was splashed with shades of violet and white.

“Cute place,” said Skye as they entered.  “This used to be a big sandwich shop.”

“Did it?” asked Judy.  “I didn’t know.  Nick and I met the owner a couple weeks ago, his car was stolen.  Bobcat.  Nice guy, actually.”

The pair walked inside, the cooler interior a nice change from the already warm and humid air of Savannah Central. Granted, fall was just around the corner and would bring cooler days which brought something to Judy’s thoughts. She watched as the vixen made her way through the different selections for small mammals, touching this item, running her pads across that one, all the while wondering how the vixen could have her winter coat when they were just leaving summer. All the while, Judy didn’t realize that she was once again staring at the fox’s tail.

When Skye tried to add another ensemble to the deep blue pantsuit, a pair of dress shorts and matching cropped jacket in khaki, several blouses in cream, dark green, sky blue and black, the bunny came to her senses. It was easy to tell that the mass of clothing was getting to be a burden and Judy dashed to the front of the store to get a small cart. The bunny smiled as she approached. “How ‘bout this instead of lugging everything around?”

“Thanks,” the vixen said with genuine gratitude. Holding the clothing on her left arm and leaning to counter the increasing weight was putting a bit of a strain on her right shoulder and Skye deposited the items in the basket with a sigh of relief.

“These are nice,” Judy commented on the several of the blouses, all of them either short or completely without sleeves. “What else?”

The vixen shrugged. “Apart from panties I guess I’ll just have to see if anything catches my eye.”

They browsed for a couple minutes more, making their way to a somewhat secluded corner of the store, where the undergarments were kept.  Skye picked out a couple pairs of pastel-colored boyshorts, and then a somewhat more risqué pair of lacy briefs caught her eye.  She picked them up and placed them against her front, shooting a smirk at Judy.

“What do you think?” asked Skye.  Before Judy could answer, Skye placed the panties back on the shelf and raised an eyebrow.  “Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind, or do I have to interrogate you?”

The bunny physically flinched, her eyes dropping to the polished tiles of the floor while her paws came together, the index fingers touching in a rather kittish display. She didn’t see how that involuntary display made the vixen smile slightly. “It just…um…well…you shouldn’t have…I mean the white fur and full undercoat…summer’s almost over and those shouldn’t be coming in for a month or so…and…”

Judy winced at her inability to talk. She could and had, interrogated suspects and witness and never had this much trouble! On the other paw, she hadn’t had such a blended mix of emotions regarding suspects. It was frustrating to say the least. In fact, it was so frustrating that the doe had picked up something that she now wrung together in her paws, not even seeing what it was.

“That just doesn’t add up…I mean…” the bunny continued before her voice trailed off.

Why did Sky make her feel so nervous? And it wasn’t because she was a fox, that was a phobia that had long since vanished. It was something else and it terrified Judy even as it sent an electric thrill down her spine. 

Skye smiled and pulled the package of T-back thongs from Judy’s paws.  “I bet you’d look good in these,” snarked Skye.  “The…the hospital I’ve been in for the last three years is on the other end of the globe.  Summer ended a few weeks ago here, but there winter just ended.  Also, the hospital was built for cold-dwelling species so it was very cold compared to where I was held before.  My body didn’t really know what was going on.”  She tossed the package of brightly colored underwear in the cart; they looked like Judy’s size and she figured Nick might get a kick out of them. 

“Really don’t know what my fur is going to do in the next couple months, though I hope my summer colors come in at some point.”  Skye smirked at Judy.  “I have this trail of striations along my sides that goes all the way down, and they go round the front to join under my tail.”

Her ears falling fully back, Judy was unaware of her mouth dropping open a little at the visual before yanking her wondering imagination back under control. Skye being in a climate controlled clinic made sense, especially if her scars were an indication of the physical damage she’d endured. Then there was the emotional and mental wounds. 

It just wasn’t fair! Skye was everything that she wasn’t…couldn’t be! Even with the scars and the trauma she’d shown that she was the better mammal. It had been a while since Judy had come in at second place and that was a bitter pill to swallow. And even while secretly wishing that Skye would simply go away, Judy felt herself being drawn to the vixen and that was confusing and painful and frustrating to the point the bunny felt she could chew planks and spit toothpicks.

Judy took a deep breath as she again felt the war within herself of wanting to hate the vixen, feeling so shocked and outraged at what had been done that she wanted to hold her while mixed with her fear that the example of vulpine beauty would eventually win Nick from her. It wasn’t fair in the slightest. She was so distracted that the doe hadn’t realized that the pack of thong panties had been put in the cart and turned to find workout clothing and eyed them critically. She might not be all that familiar with some of the finer clothes in the store, but she knew workout and gym clothes. She found one similar to her own preferred outfits of form-hugging shorts and halter with matching leggings for cold weather and forearm sleeves. The stretchy clothes were black with two panels of pastel splashes down the legs and around the hems and pointed them out.

“Hey! You’d look great in these, Skylar!” Judy told the fox, trying to get away from the negative thoughts that filled her regarding the fox only to turn around and find the vixen looking at her with not quite a glare, but a stern expression nonetheless. 

“Don’t.”  Skye’s tone was somewhat harsher than she meant it, and she sighed.  “Don’t call me Skylar, please.”

Judy’s slightly hurt expression became quizzical and her ears raised.  “What?  Why?  You don’t like your name? It’s beautiful.”

Skye shook her head.  “I like my name just fine, it’s a great name.”  The hurt expression returned and Skye closed her eyes for a moment.  “Names have power, Officer Hopps.  Names have tremendous power.  If you know a person’s full name, you have a certain power over them.”

Judy turned her head, hoping to conceal the deepening sting in her breast, a feeling alarmingly like rejection. 

Skye reached out and put a paw on Judy’s shoulder, pulling her back around to face her.  She let her paw slide up almost to Judy’s neck.  “You have to understand, officer.  I come from a broken home in a bad neighborhood, and I’ve lived in a world of subterfuge and betrayal for so long….

“I’ve only allowed one mammal to have that power over me.  One, ever.  I only really trust _him_.  It has nothing to do with you.”

The bunny nodded silently, wondering why using the vixen’s full name had been met with…well, not quite hostility, but with the kind of stern response that made her feel as if she had just gotten a dressing down by her parents. Or Bogo. Turning around so that the fox wouldn’t see how much the rebuke had cut her, Judy ambled over to another rack of clothes and made it look as if she were busy in contemplating the articles hanging up. Maybe she could keep her eyes from filling.

Power? What did Skye mean by that? It didn’t make any sense at all and Judy didn’t understand what the fox was trying to tell her, which made the pang in her chest all the worse. With her back turned she didn’t see the softening of Skye’s expression or the paw that lifted towards her for a moment before the vixen let it fall back to her side.

As far as Skye was concerned dealing with Judy Hopps was something of a challenge. Yes, the bunny had succeeded in turning Nick around and getting him on a productive path of life, and she loved her best friend to the point of distraction. But the silvery grey doe was such a fragile little thing, her time as a police officer still not quite enabling her to hide what she felt, and her mood swings were extreme. Skye finally understood what Nick was trying to tell her about the bunny.

Judy was, for all intents and purposes, still _innocent_.

How long had it been since Skye had interacted with a mammal that was truly an innocent? It was refreshing, but at the same time it required the vixen to be more cautious in how she talked and what she said to the doe. However, that innocence was very much part of Judy’s allure. No wonder Nick had found himself drawn to the bunny.

Skye had long ago learned how to multitask and while she contemplated the conundrum of Judy Hopps, she realized there were plenty of clothes in her basket to cover a little better than a week’s worth of outfits. There was one more shop that she wanted to visit before calling it a day. Nick had said something about having lunch for them. 

When the paw gently touched Judy’s shoulder to get her attention, the bunny having been so distracted that she hadn’t heard Skye talking to her, she had clamped her paws over her muzzle to keep from crying out, even though a small squeak escaped. The grin from the vixen was half amused, half apologetic, but friendly and genuine. “Sorry,” the doe said as she took a breath to calm herself. “My mind was wandering.”

Skye nodded in understanding before twitching her head at the cart. “I think I have enough for now. I’d like to hit one more store before we go have lunch with Nick, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay!” Judy replied with a little too much enthusiasm, a little too brightly. “We’ll get these and then you just tell me where to go!” Before Skye could answer the bunny skipped away with a false air of happy indifference that was as transparent as a pane of glass. 

The two of them checked out, Skye paying out of her collected funds despite Judy’s insistence otherwise, and then they made their way back to the car.  From there, Skye directed Judy to the Core Highway which cut through the center of the city.  The ride was silent all the way to the bridge crossing the waterway between Savannah Central and Tundratown, at which point, half way across the stately bridge, Judy paid more attention to the bridge than she did the road proper. 

“You’ve never been on Raven’s Gate Bridge, I assume,” chuckled Skye.   

“No,” replied Judy absently.  “Never had the chance.”  Skye couldn’t blame her for the distraction:  the bridge was nearly twenty meters off the water below, and was built to be a work of art.  As the primary entrance into Old Zootopia, the original city before the terraforming, it had been crafted to draw the eye. 

The bridge had dual spires on either end that angled away from the river with cables that stretched taught to support the span. In the center were a pair of upright arches that surrounded a circular device that was several meters across with nearly invisible supports that made the disk appear to be floating. When taken in its entirety it looked like a stylized bird with outstretched wings. During the day the whole of the construct was stark white, but at night, concealed spotlights and electro-reactive sheeting turned the entirety of the bridge into a sculpture of light that glowed all the colors of the rainbow. What’s more, at the top of the apex one could look out and see all of the districts that comprised the city.

Not only was there the road surface for cars, smaller thoroughfares had been incorporated into the design for different sized mammals, pedestrian walkways, and monorails for trains. If one could take the time to look, the surfaces of the struts and spires of the bridge had stylized figures representing every species in the world. Word had it that it was the architect’s means for recognizing the diversity of the city of Zootopia itself and showing how everyone could work together to achieve anything they set their minds to.

They lapsed into silence again as they made their way across the multi-level bridge and into Tundratown.  The drive to the shop was quick, Skye providing the most direct of her preferred roundabout paths, and finally they found themselves outside the small but stately shop simply called Maximilian’s.   

“Doesn’t look like much,” commented Judy as they climbed out of the car and she put a sweater on from the back seat.   

Skye, who found the cold of Tundratown invigorating, simply smirked.  “Most shops of its type prefer a fairly simple façade.  It’s a suit shop, the owner is a world-class tailor.”  They entered the shop, which had an open layout and several mammals in sharp uniforms.  The employees proper greeted them, and then a large snow leopard in what was clearly a very expensive business suit came forward to shake Skye’s paw. 

“I expected you, Ms. Toklo.  Right this way.” 

Skye followed, gesturing to Judy.  “This is my friend, Judy Hopps.  Hopps, Maximilian Cromwell.”  The following half hour was spent with Judy watching Skye get fitted and Mr. Cromwell himself doing the work.  Skye was fitted for a three piece suit in shades of dark grey.  

When they left finally, Judy gave Skye a look.  “I didn’t take you for a suit kind of mammal.” 

Skye shrugged as they got back into the car.  “In my line of work, you need at least one good suit.  It’s expensive, but it’ll do its job.” 

The bunny blinked as her ears twitched into a quizzical ‘Y’ shape. “Skye, I don’t mean to be nosy, but just what is your line of work? I mean, Nick said you showed up with…well, nothing. Now you’ve got enough cash to go on a shopping bender, and then drop thousands on a suit! Are…are you still a…a spy? Or whatever it was? It doesn’t add up at all!”

When the fox turned to look at her Judy held steady even though her heart was pounding in her chest. It was similar to the feeling that she had that day of the press conference when she’d unintentionally betrayed Nick and started a citywide shit storm.

“Look. I don’t think you’d hurt Nick, or me for that matter, but it seems, you know, off. There are only a few jobs that can allow mammals to make that kind of money that quickly, and you said that you had a severance package coming but it would take a week…” She shook her head slightly even though her eyes didn’t leave the vixens. “I…I can’t let you do something illegal, Skye. I’m a cop. Nick’s a cop. I can’t let something you might have going on threaten us or the city.”

The bunny’s expression became pained and vied with concern.

“You…you aren’t in trouble, are you? Because if you are, he…we can help.” Judy looked imploringly at Skye. “We can help you.” 

Skye looked away from Judy and stared ahead out of the windshield, her poker face firmly in place.  Judy was a police officer, but there were more than one kind of cop.  Some could be counted on to do what was _right_ , and others, the ones who saw the world in shades of black and white, would enforce the law…regardless of whether it was good or not.  It was looking like Judy Hopps was still the latter, still very much immature in her role as protector of the people.  Officer Hopps would grow out of that childish black and white mindset quickly…or she’d get herself or Nick killed.

Skye sighed and shook her head.  “I was an asset of the Zootopian Intelligence Agency, Officer Hopps.  _Was_.  When I returned from captivity broken and crippled I was discharged.  But you have to understand, I’ve lived a certain lifestyle using certain skills my entire adult life.  _It’s all I know._   I had a dozen supply caches around the city from when I was an active agent; I didn’t want to take from them, Hopps, but you screwed my plans.”

Skye turned to look at Judy directly, her expression carefully crafted to look almost pleading.  “Please understand.  I wanted shelter until I could get going on my own.  Nothing more.  Once I was able, I was going to leave you two to live your lives without a skinny little broken upstart getting in the way and dragging the past into the glaring light of day, distracting Nick from the beautiful woman he deserves. 

“But then you got emotional and decided it was appropriate to spend money on me.  I appreciate the gesture, Judy, I truly do…but I hate being in debt, and I cannot let you spend thousands on me no matter how quickly I could repay you.  For people like me, debts can get you killed.”  Skye’s voice was quiet and soft, real emotion leaking through, and Skye looked away again.

“I was an asset in Covert Operations, Hopps.  Covert Ops are illegal _by definition_.  I was scrubbed.  I have no job history.  No record.  No credit.  I’m a ghost.  Yes, I’ve broken the law, but an ex-spy can be a very effective consultant.  Testing security, advising on overseas interests, running misdirection campaigns to protect sensitive information and valuable mammals.  Legal applications to an illegal skillset.”

Once more, Skye looked over at Judy, and her expression turned sorrowful.  “Don’t go digging, okay?  Leave the past in the past.  All you’ll find are ghosts, and faded dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.....that happened. Things are more in the open now. And hey look! A nice cliffhanger!
> 
> ...Anubis help me, Selaxes is rubbing off on me. 
> 
> Anyway, I think we did really well this chapter. Tell us how we did, and what you think! We hope you enjoy :)


	7. Darkest

The ride back to the apartment was mostly silent as Judy tried to digest the revelations of the day. Fortunately Skye was also immersed in her own thoughts as well and only stirred when the bunny pulled into the garage, opening the bar gate with a chip card and pulling into the space nearest the exit. “I had fun, Skye,” Judy said with a smile, hoping to alleviate the awkward silence that had come between her and the vixen.

The admission caught Skye a little off guard and she blinked in mild surprise before smiling and extending a paw. “You know, I think I did, too. Thanks for taking me out.”

Judy returned the friendly expression and shook paws with the fox before helping with the bags. “Cheese and crackers!” the bunny grunted as she hefted not even half of the clothes. “They’re blouses! How can they weigh this much?” Managing another bag to save the vixen’s shoulder, Judy waited for Skye before crossing the street, quite happy that at least this apartment building had elevators, unlike her old place in the Grand Pangolin Arms.

“They are a little awkward,” the fox admitted as she adjusted her backpack and bags. “Any idea what Nick’s fixing for lunch? I’m almost ready to start gnawing on rocks as hungry as I am.”

Swallowing hard and trying to hide the blush that manifested in her ears, Judy pushed the thought of something that the Arctic fox might find tasty, particularly if it were wrapped in the panties that were in one of the bags before mentally berating herself. When she’d been single there’d been nothing wrong with lurid fantasies, but since dating Nick such things felt wrong, almost as if she were cheating on her intended. Silly, but then Judy knew that many things that she did and thought weren’t quite what most mammals would call rational. Hell, she was a bunny that had become, against all odds, a cop. What was normal about that?

Just as the two females made the apartment, Skye divesting the bunny of her burdens, Judy’s phone chirped with an incoming message. As she fished it out of her shoulder bag, Skye ambled over to the bar separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. 

“So, whatcha making?” the vixen asked with a curious expression.

Nick looked up with a wry grin. “Lunch.”

Skye snorted and gave her friend a familiar look that was part sarcasm and part feigned irritation. “Reeeeaally?” she sing-songed in a warning tone that had often been the counter for Nick’s smarm in the old days. It also served as a warning for him to be careful. “Well, it better be good. You’ve got two girls here that will skin you if it doesn’t meet our standards, Right Judy?”

When there was no immediate answer both foxes turned to regard the doe who had a puzzled expression on her face.

“Carrots? Is something wrong?” Nick inquired, pausing in his preparations for the afternoon meal.

“No,” the doe replied as she pocketed her phone. “Um, do you mind if I bow out? Vance's in town and said that he wants to meet me to talk about something.”

“Really?” the red fox said with a slight smile. “When did he get back? We haven’t seen him since he moved to the other side of the continent! I can put lunch on hold and we-“

Judy gave Nick an apologetic smile. “He asked if it could just be me. Something that he needs to talk about. He does want to get together before he has to leave.” She fidgeted a little. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

The fox came out from around the counter giving Skye the opportunity to snag one of the shrimp that he’d been cutting up and popped it into her mouth, the vixen never one to turn down a chance for a little kitchen pilfering when she and Nick had been younger. 

Judy accepted the hug and short but intense kiss that Nick bestowed. When their muzzles parted he still maintained his hold around her body, smiling warmly down at her. “Do I mind if you go see your brother who has been away for the past year and then some? Of course I don’t, silly rabbit! Just give the scruffy buck a hug and tell him I’ll see him later. Maybe we can hit that new tropical grill out in Meadowlands. From what I hear their sweet pepper and fried plantain dish is something else.”

The expression from Judy was one of slight surprise. “You really don’t mind?”

“Go on!” the red fox encouraged. “It’s a day off and I plan on being a little lazy.” He gave his fiancée another kiss, this one a little more passionate and let his lips linger on hers before releasing the bunny. “Besides, you can make it up to us tonight with a movie or drinks at that bar we found.”

“That would work,” Judy said and double checked her bag for the necessities and caressed her fox’s cheek then a wave and wink to Skye before exiting the apartment. “I’ll be back in a bit. Love you!” she called back before the door shut.

Skye flinched slightly as the door closed hard, a holdover from her captivity. Slamming doors normally meant bad things. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to hide her reaction quick enough to keep Nick from seeing it. “I’ll ask her to watch it with the door while you’re here,” he said softly with an apologetic twitch of his mouth and ears. “So, I was making sushi rolls and then thinking we could pop in a movie, but I’m up for almost anything,” Nick informed the vixen. When she didn’t say anything he reached out and brushed his fingers across the back of her paw. She flinched a little before jerking her eyes towards his and Nick wondered if she’d felt the same sort of electric jolt he did. As his eyes locked with hers, the blue shifting from a sort of slate to a darker sapphire that mesmerized him as he reluctantly pulled his paw back.

In fact, Nick was so distracted that it wasn’t until the icy sting flared at the tip of his finger that he realized he wasn’t paying attention to where the knife he held was and had cut himself. “Ah…shit.”

Skye looked down, the finger already welling with bright crimson and stood quickly, coming around as the red fox turned to the sink and flushed the wound with cold water. “Really, Nick?” 

“It’s not that bad,” he said, looking at the slice in his finger pad. “I didn’t bleed on lunch, did I?” When the vixen stepped up to assess the damage it was all Nick could do to keep from pushing his nose into the fur of her neck as her scent suddenly enveloped him.

“No. It’s not. But I should wrap it. Where’s your first aid kit?” When she looked up it was to find bright emerald eyes looking at her with an almost primal intensity…her breath caught in her throat and the scent of _male_ and _tod_ and _Nick_ scrambled her thought processes.  Skye was hyperaware of how warm Nick’s body was against hers as she pressed into him in an effort to get to his wound.  Her left paw was absently placed at the small of his back, and she became aware that his shirt had apparently ridden up, as her paw was gripping fur and not cloth.

His breath was on her face, panting lightly with the realization of just how close they were and just how long it had been since they’d been so very intimately entwined without the thought of danger or hunger or _history_ hanging over their head.  Skye remembered in flashes the last time they’d seen each other before her final ill-fated job, the long night spent awake in a delicate dance around the sensitive subject of their mutual pining, the unspoken but understood promise of the possibility of intimacy when she returned to him again.

The memories in them both and the very real and present hunger arcing between them in that long moment caused the air between them to sing with longing and wanton hunger.  The whole thing was made so much more insidious and hard to resist by virtue of the depth of emotion feeding their natural drives:  a deep welling of mutual love borne of long years of history and respect and compatibility, tempered by need and sorrow. 

Skye licked her lips…and the spell broke.

* * *

Judy opted for public transportation, the place she was meeting her brother being one that tended to serve alcohol, and with the morning’s revelations from Skye she felt that a carrot and vodka might be in order.

 _‘… a beautiful woman he deserves…!’_ Judy thought, her paws wringing together. Her frown of thought caused the other mammals on the electric tram to put a little distance between them and the grey bunny, though she was too distracted to either notice or care. She was turning over the words in a loop. How…how could Skye think that! Compared to the vixen Judy felt she was, well, frumpy! She was the opposite of Skye, short, an uninspiring color, and felt completely clumsy where the fox, even with all of her injuries, moved with fluid grace. It was near impossible to see any of the scars, and…truth be told, the bunny wished she was Skye!

The fox was tough as nails, to use a saying borrowed from her father, but imminently feminine and more than desirable. Judy also only had a fraction of the time knowing Nick that the vixen had. And her fox had already admitted to her that he loved his friend… No. Was _in love_ with her, as he was with the doe herself.

As the tram neared the stop that was only a block away from where she was meeting Vance Judy had a sudden twinge of panic about leaving the two foxes alone. Then, with an almost violent shake of her head, the bunny dismissed her misgivings. It was like she expected something to happen. Maybe Judy had left them alone so something would….

Stepping down onto the sidewalk when the vehicle came to a stop, Judy felt her ears start to fall before forcing them erect. Skye said that Nick deserved her, but how could she live with herself if she were the reason that the pair that had been in love with each other for so many years didn’t—

Her thoughts were interrupted by the obstacle that suddenly appeared in her path and looked up, blinking a couple of times as she pulled her mind from its ruminations. Judy’s paw was already in her bag, fingers closing around the grip of her Taser before realizing that the one blacking her path was, one, a rabbit and two, familiar. The amber eyes of her brother, Vance, were even more luminous than she remembered while the smile on his face was warm and comforting, just what the doe could use at the moment.

“Serendipity! It’s good to see you, Judes!” the buck said as he caught his sibling up in his arms.

Judy marveled at the strength of the buck, no longer the rangy rabbit he’d been. Someone had obviously been hitting the gym, or selling agricultural equipment was more demanding than Judy thought, and squeezed back just as tight. “Vance!” she answered, burying her chin into the juncture of neck and shoulder. “A year is too long to go between visits!”

“Yeah,” the rabbit agreed as he set his sibling down. He gave her an appraising look. “Huh. Physically you look okay, but something’s nibbling at you. I know that look in your eyes. And don’t even try to tell me differently! I know my littermate too well for you to even think about getting away with a lie!”

Judy shrugged. “It’s nothing important,” she said, adding a smile to her words. “So what did you do that made you leave my fox at home?”

Her fox? Would Nick still be that when she returned after the lunchtime visit?

For the first time that she could remember, Vance actually looked unsure of himself. He’d always been the confident rabbit, even when goading her on to follow her dream, had been supportive when Judy made it know that she and Nick were an item, had always blazed his own path. To see him fidget was more than a little alarming. “Uh, well, you see…I’ve met someone…” Vance said quietly, his tone indicating that he wasn’t quite sure how this news would be received.

“You? Mister Bachelor?!?” The grin that pulled at Judy’s short muzzle was genuine and full of warmth and her eyes sparkled with delight. “C’mon! Introduce us, you turnip head!”

The buck took a breath and led his sister to an outside table, leading her by the paw to a table that Judy didn’t really look at until they arrived. “Judy? I’d like you to meet Dana. Dana? My sister, Judy Hopps.”

When the doe turned her smile faltered slightly in complete surprise as she found a skunk with chocolate brown eyes and slightly more white fur than black, but dressed impeccably in shorts and light top.

“It’s a real pleasure!” Dana said and held out a paw. “Vance has told me so much about you!”

“I wish I could say the same,” Judy replied as she accepted the greeting.

Vance watched the greeting, his expression wilting. “Gee, think you could be any less enthusiastic?” the buck asked before scowling slightly. “You know, I didn’t think you of all bunnies would act this way when you’re with a fox,” he said and moved closer to the skunk. “Or is it because Dana’s a male?”

The doe recoiled at the chilly tone in her brother’s voice, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. Vance was starting to get irritated while Dana, the very much male skunk, looked apprehensive and slightly ashamed. 

“No, Vance! That’s not it…” Judy began before her expression began to crumble complete with trembling lower lip and twitching nose. She let her brother set her down in a chair after a moment and felt both mammals reach out and take a paw in theirs. “It’s…the past two days have been…” The bunny drew in a shuddering breath. “I think I’m losing Nick!” she husked before the tears began to flow. 

* * *

Nick watched as Skye’s tongue dampened her lips, her scent intensifying for a brief moment, her blue eyes warm and inviting and he felt his pulse jump until the light deep within her eyes flickered before she slammed the door on her rising emotions. It was enough to make the red fox flinch away, pulling his injured finger and paw with him. With the small span of space between them it was like Nick was more in control of himself, even though the immediate area was rife with vixen scent that said _available_ and _willing_ to the part of him that was hardwired by evolution to pick up on such subtle signs. 

Then again, Nick wasn’t simply a creature of instinct. Like all of the elevated mammals of the world, he was also an intelligent individual with the power of choice, able to determine his own direction instead of being a thrall to baser drives and impulses. 

Of course, there were his feeling for Judy to consider, and the commitment he’d made to the bunny that had quite literally saved him from himself. He loved the silvery doe to the point that it hurt sometimes, and had found such comfort and completeness in her arms. It was as if fate, or the universe, maybe even Karma herself had fashioned the bunny to make him whole. He loved her with a sort of purity that was staggering in its power.

But he had loved Skye that way, too. And, much to his agony, still did.  How easily they seemed to pick up where they’d left off, falling into old habits and customs. It was as if no time at all had passed, like the past six years were nonexistent. 

And it terrified Nick in the very core of his soul.

He opened his mouth to speak, to say something, laugh off the moment as he might have in the past but Skye shook her head and beat him to it. 

“This isn’t right, Nick.”  Skye went straight to the heart of the issue, which spoke to her seriousness better than anything else she could do, as she had a habit similar to Nick’s of obfuscating the facts when she could.  She took a step back, then turned and fled, taking several steps across to lean on the table, facing away from Nick.  “I shouldn’t have come here.  The moment you said you were engaged I should have disappeared again.”

“Skye, no.”  Nick put a paw on her shoulder.  “We can—“

Skye turned and smacked Nick’s paw away from her, and when she spoke her voice was heated.  “No, Nick, we can’t.  This was a mistake.  It goes too deep.  You got what you _deserved,_ Nick.  You got a beautiful girlfriend who’s quick enough to catch you and, and smart enough to keep hold of you.  Have you _seen_ that ra-rabbit, Nick?  She’s a-amazing and str-strong and, and— _goddamn it!_ ”  She slammed a fist into the table, ignoring the resulting pain in her shoulder and paw.

Nick came to her again and put a paw between her shoulder blades softly.  “Deep breath, Snowball,” he murmured.  Nick felt a constriction in his chest hearing her stutter.  He’d helped her train herself out of her stutter many years ago, and the last time he’d seen her upset enough that it’d returned she was twenty-one and her mother had just been killed.  “You’re okay, honey.”

A single splash on the table’s surface revealed Skye had begun to cry, and that one dark spot was soon joined by others as she bent over the table.  “No,” whispered Skye.  “I’m really not.  Nick, I’ve lost the only person I’ve ever been in love with.  Every moment I stand here hearing your voice, smelling your musk, seeing your eyes on mine…it’s like a knife in the heart.  Like I’m being pulled apart at the seams.” 

She scoffed, the sound of the wandering lamenting the loss of the path to the light.  “I thought I couldn’t hurt more than I did when I was in the lion’s den.  I was such an ignorant child.”

Skye raised her balled up paw again but the red fox grabbed her wrist before she could slam it into the wood surface once more. She fought him, her jaw muscles clenching, knowing that she would start stuttering again unless she got herself under control. Taking a centering breath, the vixen slowly pulled away, Nick relenting and letting her go when he was sure she wouldn’t hurt herself.

“By Karma! It’s nothing that I don’t deserve, Nick!” Skye whispered fiercely. “I see you with everything you ever wanted…everything you’ve ever deserved while I’m left out here with nothing. But…I deserve that! Don’t you see? I don’t deserve you, because of the things I-I’ve d-d-d-done! Karma sees that and I am on her de-debt ledger! And Karma _always_ collects Her debts, Nick! Always!”

The red fox watched as the vixen’s chest heaved with a shuddering breath that she let out in a resigned sigh, ears and tail drooping as she sank in on herself a bit. When he lofted a paw to brush away the moisture under her eyes it was all Skye could do not to lean into the touch, to feel him cup her face. She closed her eyes at the tender contact, though it only brought more pain that twisted at her chest to the point she wanted to collapse and sob with her broken heart.

“I haven’t gotten everything I deserve or wanted, Snowball,” Nick said gently, his voice caressing her ears. “I paid for everything I have. I paid dearly. And I owe Karma a debt as well. I owe her my life. But that’s not enough. You see, I love Judy, and you know that,” he admitted, watching the pain flit across the vixen’s face, her eyes squeezing shut against the build up of tears beneath the lids. “But I never stopped loving you, either. And…and I want to die because I can’t see a way out without hurting the two individuals that make up my heart and soul…”

The vixen opened her eyes at that admission to find Nick’s face also soaked, his expression painfully honest. And in his eyes lay his heart and his own misery at the turn his life had taken and the others that had to suffer for his balance to be paid to the unyielding goddess of all foxes.

After all, Karma, as they said, was a bitch. 

* * *

Judy stared at the glass of water that the waitress, a mink that barely looked old enough to be out of school, had brought before bolting as politely as possible at the suppressed and choking sob the bunny had let out. She felt drained after explaining the situation with Skye, recalling at the last moment possible that revealing the vixen’s former life wouldn’t be prudent, saying only that she was employed around the world as a consultant, using the term the arctic fox’s own terminology.

Vance, bless him, was quiet until his sister was done, offering silent support, but without coaxing or prodding. Dana, for his part simply watched the two siblings, feeling for not just the bunny, but the foxes as well, that had been caught up in such a terrible situation through no one’s fault. The skunk followed his partner’s lead and simply stayed quiet, though it was impossible not to reach across the small table and place a reassuring paw on Judy’s arm, his deep brown eyes full of sympathy that was met with as much gratitude as the doe could muster.

“I mean, how am I supposed to compete with that? She’s known Nick all of her life. Literally.” Judy sniffed and used a napkin to dab at her eyes and fur. “Maybe…maybe it would be best if I just…left…”

The expression that filled Vance’s face was one of smoldering anger. “Walk away?” he asked softly, though it was easy to tell that he was furious and that his ire was building. “After everything, you’d walk away?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do, Vance?!?” Judy shot back in a vitriol laced whisper.

“Not. Give. Up!” the rabbit buck said as he leaned closer. “When have you, of all Mom and Dad’s kits, ever given up on anything! You’re not a coward, you’re not a quitter, and if you love Nick you’ll figure something out! But I swear, Serendipity as my witness, you quit and walk away and I will never talk to you again. Don’t you ever talk to me about quitting!”

The declaration was like a slap in the face, or a bucket of cold water and Judy recoiled, her amethyst eyes opening as wide as they could while her ears snapped erect, making a soft clapping sound as they came together. Vance leaned on one elbow while pointing at his sibling, the other paw on his thigh. 

The one that had always supported her dream of being a police officer, that had stood beside her through the derision of other siblings, their parents and so-called friends had just used the one trump card he had over Judy. “You’re a trier, Judes. But more than that, you’re a *doer*. So what are you going to do about this?”

The bunny’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she turned to the one rabbit that had never abandoned her. “I…I don’t know…”

Vance sat back with one arm held across his body, the other slipping around the skunk next to him. “Tell you what, Judy. We’re in town for the next week. You have my number so when you do figure out what you’re going to do, then give us a call.”

To say that Judy had been stunned by the rebuke was an understatement. She stood and tried to lift her head up and put her shoulders back instead of slouching like some whipped beast. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Dana, and I’m sorry for dumping all of this on the two of you.”

The skunk made to stand but was kept in place by the rabbit’s paw and turned to see his partner shake his head almost imperceptibly. He was left with little option and gave the doe a sympathetic smile and held out his paw. “I hope things work out, Judy. I’d really like to get to know you and…um, you know,” he finished weakly.

Judy swallowed and nodded and tried to return the smile, turning away finally and heading back to the apartment that she and Nick, and now Skye, shared.

Instead of taking the tram back, the bunny decided to walk as she fought with her feelings and the thoughts running around her head, not really paying heed to where she went but simply plodding along on autopilot. It was five miles back to the studio loft, and to pass the time she pulled out her phone and the tiny earbuds, sticking them in while activating the radio app. She forgot that the last time she’d used it she left the setting on the oldies station and listened as crooners from long ago belted out love ballads and bittersweet songs before getting frustrated with the melancholy music and absently punched a different station in. What started playing was even worse, nothing but depressing country ballads about cheaters and broken hearts.

With a snarl of frustration Judy pulled the earbuds out and closed the app before angling off to one of the many small parks that dotted the city and plopped down on a bench to look at a tiny pond where goldfish rippled the surface of the water.

“Vance is right,” the bunny said to herself. “I _don’t_ know when to quit, and I’m not about to start.” She felt her ears lifting of their own accord. “And I’m _not_ going to let Nick go without a fight! He’s going to have to choose and we’ll all just have to live with that!”

The bunny’s pluck had returned as her expression grew petulant and defiant and she walked home with renewed vigor and drive, though what she considered a determined gait was a jog for other mammals. 

Her mind, for some reason she couldn’t fathom, returned to the days of her Academy training. So many times the direct approach had failed and left her on the losing side. Judy’d had to find a way to succeed that played to her strengths, sometimes attacking a problem sideways. She was suddenly reminded of the dreaded Icewall, and her eventual conquering of that problem. She’d needed the other mammals in her class and had finally overcome the challenge. When it came to the boxing ring she’d dropped a rhino by playing to her strengths. Maybe if she stopped feeling so goddamned sorry for herself a solution to her present issue would also come to her as well.

With her spirits continuing to climb, Judy set of for home.

The apartment looked empty when Judy finally got home and as she dropped her bag on the coffee table she cast her eyes around but saw no sign of either Nick or Skye. On the counter that divided the kitchen from the rest of the space was the lunch that Nick had been working on, but now it sat untouched, the rice drying and other things looking wilted with slices of avocado turning an unwholesome brown. 

Her lavender eyes narrowing while the fur around her neck and shoulders tried to raise in apprehension, Judy quietly pulled her Taser out of her bag and held it in a two-pawed grip. The bunny swept the immediate area around the door checking the two potential places of concealment as she’d been trained before heading further into the studio. However, when she drew close to the kitchen she found her answer of where Nick and Skye were.

It was the way that they were sitting that drew the bunny’s attention first. Nick’s back was against the refrigerator and Skye lay curled on her left side, her head resting in the red fox’s lap while his paw automatically stroked the fur between her ears and neck. As Judy drank in the scene…how many times had she laid like that on her fiancé’s lap?...it was a wonder that the doe didn’t fire the electrically charged darts into the floor.

Or the two vulpines.

Only upon taking a closer look did more details emerge that cut at her heart. 

Each fox looked miserable. Nick stared off into space, not really seeing anything, the fur of his cheeks matted and gummy looking, his eyes red and raw as if he’d spent the whole day in a Sahara Square sandstorm. Skye was likewise on the verge of catatonia, and while her cheek fur was also matted it was also stained a light shade of brown attesting to the amount of crying that had been going on. She tripped the safety on the nonlethal weapon and set it on the counter next to the rubbery looking shrimp before ducking into the bathroom and getting a washcloth and ran cold water over it.

She might be suffering, but Judy couldn’t stand to see other mammals suffering as well and fell back into old behavioral practices of putting others before herself. 

Or perhaps, she thought ruefully to herself, she was growing the hell up. Life was messy, after all.

She took care of Skye’s fur first, gently cleaning the fur there and adding small caressing pets before turning to Nick, though when she lifted the cloth to his face he gently grabbed her wrist to stop her. He slowly shook his head before helping Skye sit up then stood, Judy backing up slightly as the red fox hauled the vixen to her feet.

“Get her in the shower and help her out, please,” Nick asked, his voice a raspy croak from a throat that was completely raw. “I…I need to go out for a bit.”

“But, Nick,” the bunny began before he held up a paw to stop her protest. She watched as he grabbed the spare set of keys for the apartment and let himself out, leaving her alone with the white fox. “Well…fuck,” Judy muttered. Shaking her head she took Skye’s paw and led her to the bathroom. “I guess we could both use a shower. And I promise not to bite.”

If the pathetic attempt at humor was heard, the vixen gave no indication.

As she began to undress the vixen, Judy wondered if it might have been better to catch the two foxes screwing their brains out instead of finding two completely wrecked mammals. Once Skye was nude, Judy turned on the water and began to remove her own clothes, the skin beneath her fur feeling itchy from the stress of the day and looking forward to the blast of hot water.

Maybe the cascade would help wash away some of the emotional crap that had accumulated in such a short span of time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult for everyone involved. Except me and Selaxes, we cruel mofos enjoyed it immensely >:D Anyway, that's another chapter down. Leave your comments if you have them, and we hope you enjoy!
> 
> A note to fans of my other work _The Oldest Story_ : I realize it's now been almost two months since I've written for that, and I apologize for that. I've been pretty consumed by this story and I've found little motivation for anything else. I really am sorry. But in my defense....If I try to write and my mind isn't in the game, so to speak, the story will suffer for it. Rest assured, I have NOT abandoned the story. I'll return to it in due time.
> 
> This chapter originally featured Judy's brother Virgil; he has been renamed Vance for continuity reasons.


	8. Decisions Made

Judy set aside her own clothing, the water in the shower warming as she got both her and Skye disrobed before guiding her into the enclosed cubby. “It’s been a while since I showered with another female,” the bunny told the near catatonic fox, “so I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little out of practice. Though I am pretty good at helping get foxes clean!” She looked up at the white furred female, the lack of reaction, good or otherwise, causing her expression to sober. “Sorry. I guess…I guess with everything that that was out of line.”

When the bunny plucked the nozzle and attached hose from its clip Skye actually stirred, her eyes losing some of the vacancy with the spray of warm water, Judy took that as a good sign. Fortunately the vixen wasn’t as tall as Nick so getting to all of her body wasn’t all that difficult. As Judy wet Skye down she kept a running monologue, saying things that she hadn’t intended to divulge.

“You know, I…I’m still not sure what to feel about what you said,” the bunny said with complete candor as she got the other female’s shoulders and back good and soaked before moving to the long, thick brush of a tail, not for the first time experiencing a pang of envy at the luxurious caudal appendage that her species lacked. “I’m so plain and…and frumpy compared to you. If Nick was smart he’d pick you over me any day. Hell. If I were Nick I’d choose you. You’re beautiful, Skye. And graceful.”

The only sign that the vixen was possibly paying attention was an ear twitch, though as Judy set the shower nozzle aside and grabbed the bottle of fur shampoo and squeezed a portion across Skye’s shoulders and began to work it in, the vixen leaned ever so slightly into the scrubbing. From shoulders and upper back, Judy moved further down before stepping in front and repeating the process. 

 “I can’t compete with you, you know,” the doe pressed on with her fingers building up a good lather as she worked her way into the fox’s rich undercoat that covered her breasts and flat stomach. “I…maybe I should leave,” she suggested, casting a glance up into blue eyes. “I think that would be best.” 

When there was no response she took the showerhead and began to douse Skye’s legs and tail, moving around with cautious steps and her typical attention to detail. More shampoo followed as Judy ran her paws over the fox’s legs. Skye had wonderful legs, long and powerful and even with wet fur they were shapely. For a few moments the bunny lost herself in the thrill of running her paws over the fox’s body and limbs, not unlike the way that she learned Nick’s body the first few months of their relationship as lovers. It occurred to her that foxes really were beautiful creatures, and the arctic vixen even more so than usual. While her scent was similar to Nick’s it wasn’t quite as sharp, the aroma slightly softer, milder, but no less wonderful. When Judy took the vixen’s tail in her paws her finger accidentally caressed the underbase, that little bit of contact causing a different sort of perfume to fill the cubicle. She knew from forays online that it was Skye’s violet gland, the subcaudal spot that released a sweet, flowery scent when stimulated. For a moment the bunny simply drank it in, wanting to roll herself in that wonderful smell, or wrap herself in it. So it was with great reluctance that the bunny moved further down the vixen’s tail before she impulsively did something very untoward.

“I can’t lie. I want Nick,” the bunny said as she knelt to get to Skye’s lower legs and feet. “I want him s-so bad that it hurts. But,” she continued as her paws massaged the fox’s thigh before moving to the other leg, “I want Nick to be happy. I think that he might be happier with someone that can…that can give him children.” She paused before reaching the juncture of the vixen’s legs and body. “I know he wants kits someday. I…I can’t give him that.” The bunny regained her feet while once more reaching for the bottle of shampoo. “You can…”

Judy sniffed as moisture that had nothing to do with the blast of water accumulated under her eyes. “Getting another place wouldn’t be difficult and I can request a transfer to a different precinct and-“

“I kissed Nick…” Skye mumbled, interrupting the bunny as she worked on her arms.

Judy’s paws stopped and she blinked at the unexpected admission. 

“What?”

The vixen turned her head slightly to look down at the bunny. “I…I kissed Nick and…and I don’t regret it, but it was wrong. I…I had to say good-bye, though.”

Her misery forgotten, Judy frowned slightly. “What do you mean, ‘good-bye’?” 

Skye took a deep breath as she stepped back as far as she could in the narrow shower, the hot humid air helping steady her further.  “It wasn’t his fault, Hopps.  It was my choice.  All the way back six years ago when I chose to go on a job on the other side of the globe.  My future with Nick ended the moment I boarded the plane that day, and I know it, and he knows it.”

Judy stepped forward and reached out.  “Skye, I’m trying—“

Skye stopped Judy’s advance with a paw on her chest and interrupted her.  “No.  Nick doesn’t _want_ me anymore, Hopps.  No, that’s not true.  But he wants you more.  You’re everything he’s ever wanted.  You think _children_ are enough to make him leave the woman he loves?  Of all mammals, Nick is willing to adopt.”

Judy’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “But I’m….”

“A stupid rabbit,” muttered Skye, trailing the tips of her fingers along Judy’s clavicle.  “You’re beautiful and strong, but you refuse to accept anything that anyone tells you unless it’s negative.  You’re incapable of seeing yourself with any kind of honesty.”

“That’s ridiculous,” whispered Judy.

Skye put her paw on Judy’s shoulder and pushed her back, pressing her into the shower wall.  “What’s ridiculous is expecting me to stay here hurting myself and Nick and you, just by being here.  There’s too much history between Nick and I, Judy.  We can never just be friends.  I don’t intend to stick around and watch you two fall apart because of my selfishness.”

Her mouth moving up and down with no sound coming out, Judy watched as the vixen scrubbed almost violently at her face, ridding it of the ravages of her earlier tears. She needed to say something…to do something, but she was frozen to the spot. She hadn’t been this indecisive since before the ZPA, not since she was a kit. It was frustrating. Warring with herself wasn’t an option and belatedly the bunny realized that she was alone, Skye having exited the shower after rinsing her fur thoroughly. Without even turning the water off Judy bolted from the cubicle, still not sure what she was going to say, but knowing that she had to do something to stop the fox from vanishing.

“Skye! Wait! You can’t just leave him like tha-at!”

The last word ended as a yelp as Judy came out of the bathroom at a run, completely unheeding of being both nude and sopping wet as her foot shot out from underneath her and she spilled onto the hardwood floor, her skull bouncing once on the polished wood slats. Her inertia was enough to carry Judy head first into the leg of the table, the heavy piece of furniture sliding more than a foot and a half as she took a second blow. There was an instant of stars exploding in her brain before the bunny was engulfed in blackness, unaware of the tiny cut that dribbled a steady stream of crimson from between her ears. 

Skye knelt with a sigh and gently inspected Judy’s head.  The split skin right between Judy’s ears oozed blood, and a lot of it, but it was a head wound and those were known to bleed.  Without thinking about it, Skye bent and swiped her tongue a couple times across the spot.  The old adage that saliva held healing properties was more true than most gave it credit for.  Once the blood was cleaned away, leaving a salty, metallic flavor in Skye’s mouth, she snatched a napkin from the table and pressed it firmly to the wound.  She placed Judy’s paw over it.

“Push,” said Skye gently.  “Direct pressure.”

Judy hissed in pain.  “That _hurts_.”  Her eyes opened, looking slightly dazed, and she glared at Skye.

“I know.”  Skye felt around the rest of Judy’s skull carefully.  “It’s not bad, but it’ll bleed a lot if you don’t keep pressure.”  Skye frowned down at Judy, at the matted wet fur and the scowl of determined indignation and the embarrassment at having slipped, and her chest tightened.  Judy was so pretty, and had such a powerful personality.  Here she was in such a hurry to lose everything she had just so some stranger she barely knew could be happy. 

Skye understood why Nick loved her.  Only an idiot could meet her and see her go through so much in so little a time and not fall in love with her.

“I’m sorry, Judy,” murmured Skye.  “I didn’t mean for any of this.”

“Yeah…well…maybe now that I’ve gotten some sense knocked into me we can figure this out,” the bunny replied as she tried to sit up. It was a bit more than she was ready for after such a sharp blow and the world spun crazily for a moment until Judy felt the vixen’s paws around her. When she looked up in gratitude her attention was caught in the depths of Skye’s eyes, the irises actually darkening for a moment and behind them sparked something different, something warm.

It was almost the same indefinable quality that she’d seen in Nick’s eyes when they first began their feelings for each other. 

Even as the world tilted and spun, Judy felt the gaze that locked with her own become something akin to the eye of a storm. It was calming, soothing, and at the same time the doe’s pulse sped up which caused her head to pound in time with her heart. 

“Can…can you help me to the couch or…or maybe the bed?” Judy asked softly, still unable to look away from the vixen’s eyes that had seemed to settle on a pale sapphire. “Maybe a towel, too. I think I’m dripping water on the floor.”

The chuckle that came from the arctic fox was just as warm as her gaze, and Judy decided that it was a good sound, not forced, not fake, but real and genuine. Then, without even thinking about what she was doing, Judy lifted a paw and gently took hold of Skye’s ear, pulling down while lifting her aching head. She felt her lips touch the vixen’s for just a moment, but the warmth was quite enjoyable. When she lay back down it was to find Skye blinking at her in surprise.

“Sorry. But now I kissed you so we’re all even, right?” 

Skye’s mouth opened and closed a couple times as she tried to decide how to react.  Finally she settled on surprised.  “I, I don’t think that’s how it wor-works, exactly.”  Skye carefully helped Judy stand and move to the couch.  “Don’t worry,” said Skye as Judy protested being sat, dripping wet, on the green corduroy.  “This couch has seen plenty of abuse.  It’ll survive.”

Skye grabbed her bag and pulled out a bottle of over the counter painkillers.  As she shook one out and snapped the tablet in half, Judy sighed.

“What are you going to do?”

Skye passed Judy the half tablet and a bottle of water.  “I’ll stay.  For a little while.  Just until I can find my own place.  After that, maybe Nick will forget about…us.  It’s all I can hope for.”

* * *

Nick ambled without direction, trying to get the tumultuous knot of emotions straightened out, though he was still distracted from rational thought by the tingling of his muzzle where Skye had kissed him. He passed other mammals that barely stepped around the dazed fox in time, Nick ignoring them equally, even when slurs and complaints were thrown at him. He heard and saw nothing.

As his musings fell into a vicious circle he wondered for the dozenth time that maybe he should leave. Choosing between either Skye or Judy wasn’t an option, not with the investment he had in both. That and to do so would be something that Nick was incapable of anymore, he would be quitting. Quitting on himself…quitting on Judy and Skye…

He knew that to walk away would mean a return to his old ways, of being the fox-on-the-roam, just like his un-evolved ancestors. And that thought was his secret terror. That his old life would rise up and drag him back into the shadows, destroying the individual he always wanted to be, that he’d fought so hard to become. Once more rubbing his chest over his heart, Nick dismissed that with silent vehemence.

It wasn’t until he flopped down on a bench that Nick realized he’d made it all the way to the park that was located about six blocks from his and Judy’s apartment building, a place that often allowed him to gather his thoughts after a particularly rough day. He’d always liked the parks that dotted the city. As he often did he let his gaze travel about the mown laws and clumps of decorative trees and flower beds with various pieces of playground equipment scattered here and there.

Kits, cubs, pups and lambs screeched and laughed as they engaged in different games and parents took strolls with their smaller children. It was clear that he and Judy weren’t the only interspecies couple in Zootopia, but they were one of the most well known. Granted there weren’t any pred-prey couples, but there were a few that weren’t conventional at all. A lion and tiger, both males swung a pair of tiger cubs as they walked down the pea gravel path, the tiger of the pair with a little lioness in a carrier on his back. They were so happy that Nick couldn’t help but smile in response to what he saw. 

Another lion at the far side of the small pond in the middle of the park lounged on a blanket with his small pride of lionesses. The group was sharing a book and sharing a picnic lunch, their status quite clear by the way they touched each other and the closeness shared between all four of them.

That led him to take a little bit of comfort from all of the other activity going on, the laughter, teenage mammals sneaking off to share kisses in the concealment of the shrubbery, exploring their first forays into the world of dating.

Just seeing all of that helped to pull Nick from the funk that had surrounded him and filled his thoughts. When a Frisbee landed at his feet, Nick picked it up and threw it back to the mix of rabbits, coyotes and roe deer that had been playing with it, the young mammals cheering the fox on as he flicked the disc.

Then a new concept began to wheedle its way through the red fox’s conscious thoughts as the group resumed their game and when it blossomed into full form it was with enough strength to cause Nick to jerk upright as his ears snapped fully erect and his tail stood out straight, the brush of fur puffed as every strand stood on end through the slats in the bench. 

Why did he have to do anything?

Skye was a smart vixen with far more intelligence than most mammals gave her credit for. The same could easily be said about Judy, not only making honor roll during her school career and graduating valedictorian in the ZPA. He loved both, of that there was no doubt, and both would come to terms with the outcome of the tangled skein their lives had become. Even if all three suffered heartbreak they would have their dignity. Then again, none of them would be unscathed with whatever the outcome was.

 But that didn’t mean the outcome could preclude friendships. They were, after all, adults. Couldn’t they also be friends?

It was something that he would have to bring up to the two females, but that was for another time. Right now all Nick wanted to do was go home, get both women and go out someplace for supper. Events had completely wrecked the lunch he had planned. It only seemed fair that they all treat themselves to a good meal cooked by someone else.

It wasn’t a solution, but an answer to the dilemma could wait for the moment.

Nick got back to the apartment feeling a little better than the mood he’d left in and for the first time in the past few days he opened the door without the gut twisting dread that had plagued him. “Hey!” the red fox called out before fully passing through the door. “I think we should head over to deBruin’s for dinner. They have a good selection of…”

Nick trailed off as he found two nude females on his old couch, Judy curled up with her head resting on Skye’s lap, both still a little damp from the shower. In front of them on the coffee table was a pawful of bloody napkins. His brows pinching together Nick all but leapt to the two females, kneeling down close to both, emerald eyes searching amethyst and sapphire.

“What happened?” Nick asked in concern before noticing the cut on Judy’s head. It had been cleaned though there was a little bit of swelling around the laceration and it was barely visible, but under the fur there was already signs of bruising.

Judy looked up, a tiny flinch of discomfort on her face. “I kissed Skye and she hit me,” the bunny delivered in a flat tone.

“You…you did what?!”

The doe was able to maintain the neutral expression for half a second more before giggling. “Skye didn’t hit me. I was soaked and came out of the bathroom too fast and slipped before hitting the table. She did save my life, though. I would have bled to death without her quick thinking.”

Through the whole thing Skye gave the rabbit a stunned, if not slightly horrified look, the whole time her muzzle agape as she shook her head.

Nick let his attention flit back and forth before huffing and assuming a stern expression in response. “You know, if I had any sense I’d ground you both, but if I did that we’d never eat, and I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starving.”

“Slick, you’re always starving,” Judy said. “I guess that means we should get dressed…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter! Wooo! Things are beginning to fall into place. I hope everyone enjoys!


	9. Threads and Knots

The rest of the day was fairly normal, or as normal as things could be considering the situation, and after enjoying a solid supper out, the two foxes and bunny returned to the apartment, Skye busying herself with preparing the new clothes that she bought for canvassing Zootopia for work while Nick and Judy took care of various chores around the apartment. The vixen did get a bit of amusement when she encountered the pack of thongs that she’d tossed into her cart for the doe and tossed them to Judy. “Here. I forgot we got these,” the fox said as she lobbed the rather risqué panties to the bunny.

“You really bought these?” Judy asked with a pleasantly surprised expression from where she was tending to her equipment belt, making sure that there were no scuffs and that the various cargo pouches were spotless and looking as new as the day she first put it on. “I’m going to try them on!”

Nick looked up from where he sat going over the numbers for their expenses, balancing their bank account, the bunny more than happy to let her fox take care of balancing their budget. She was no slouch with math, but Nick was a miracle worker as far as their finances were concerned. “Try what on?” the red fox inquired with a curious expression.

“You’ll see!” Judy sing-songed as she began to peel her clothing off.

Skye turned to look over her shoulder where she was setting up her blouses on hangers and began chuckling at the rabbit’s enthusiastic if impromptu striptease. Not that the vixen could blame her. She enjoyed being nude herself in point of fact, though often refrained from doing so in strange locations. As it was she had put on her midriff tank top and abbreviated boy shorts, liking the unfettered feeling.

The bunny got the first pair on, the thong in a pretty shade of cerulean. Judy struck a pose like various mammals used in some of the more exclusive lingerie catalogs, even going so far as to assume a smoldering ‘come hither’ look as she posed for the two foxes. “Whaddya think?” she asked, pulling her ears down in a way that was part bashful, part seductive.

“There’s not a lot in the back,” Nick observed as he set his pencil down and leaned back with a smile.

Judy leaned towards him and smiled. Like most other mammals there was no reason to wear a bra and often let her chest stay bare beneath clothing. She wouldn’t really develop breasts until she got pregnant, more of an ‘if-or-when’ scenario, though they would all but vanish after nursing, so bras were extemporaneous. “No back means no panty lines. Besides, I thought you liked bare bunny-buns.”

“I’m not complaining, Carrots, believe me,” Nick said with a chuckle.

Judy made a sound of exasperation. “You’re biased.” She cast a glance at the vixen and bent over. “What do you think, Skye?” She waited until the white fox was looking before giving her puff of a tail a saucy shimmy.

Skye felt her eyes widening as she stared at the blatant display and opened her mouth but no sound came out, especially as Judy began to sway side-to-side with a rolling of her rump. “Th…th-they l-l-look fine t-to me…” she finally got out before jerking her gaze away and focusing on her clothes.

“You two are no fun.” The doe began looking through the rest of the pack, her ears jerking upright in surprise. “Ooooooh! These are all different styles! I wonder how these will look?” Judy exclaimed as she took out the next pair before skinning the others off.

Each and every pair was tried on and modeled, Judy becoming a little more excited with each new pair of panties until it got to be too much and she bolted to the bathroom. Nick shook his head, also a little worked up from the display and tried to focus on the task of balancing their checkbook when Skye sat down at the table.

“Is…is she always like this?”

Nic glanced up. “What do you mean?”

The vixen gave her friend a sardonic expression, one ear lower than the other, then tilted her head in exasperation. “I’d say flighty, but she’s not as bad as a lot of bunnies I’ve met. But,” Skye continued as she held up a paw with extended finger to delay any response. “So…extreme. Down one moment, bouncing off the walls the next…” She shook her head. “For fuck’s sake, Nick, it’s enough to make me dizzy!”

The red fox laughed softly and leaned back. “You have to take her childhood into account, Snowball. Her family hated that she wanted to be a cop. They hated that she didn’t fit the mold they wanted her in. She should have been married to some farmer and popping out litters every few months. Instead, she decided to go her own way. The thing is, it ostracized her from her family, her friends…she never learned how to really act around others. 

“She knows how to be a cop because of the academy and taking cues from other officers, but around social contacts and settings, not so much, so she comes off as ‘flighty’.” Nick leaned a little closer. “She’s an innocent, Skye. She didn’t go through what we did, but she can empathize. She still has that quality that we lost as kits.”

Skye recoiled slightly. “Innocent?” she lowered her head and voice. “Was she a virgin before you two?”

Nick looked at the vixen, one eyebrow dipping before he let out a peel of laughter that continued until he had to wipe a tear from his eye and one arm wrapped around his stomach. “By Karma, no! Not in the slightest! But it was…well, physical. Love wasn’t really a factor. Judy didn’t understand enough about love to realize what it was, or the lack of it with the exception of how she was treated by her parents. She knows now, of course, but it still colors the way she interacts with others.”

The vixen turned to look at the bathroom door. “Innocent…” she mused. “I guess that is the best way to describe her.” Then her ears swiveled towards the closed bathroom door with a soft, drawn out moan from the other side. “Is she…”

“Masturbating. It doesn’t take a lot to get bunnies worked up and she doesn’t…you know…in front of you because it’s sort of disrespectful,” Nick informed his friend.

Skye’s ears flicked in amusement as her muzzle spread into a grin. “Sounds like she’s having a good time!”

Nick coughed lightly as his ears turned a deep pink bordering on striking red. “Uh…yeah…well…” the fox scratched the back of his head. “She…she has a toy…”

The vixen gave the other vulpine a curious look. “Lots of girls have toys.”

“Made from a mold of…um…me…”

Skye simply stared at the other fox with a shocked expression. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. One of the other…er…patrons at Oasis Springs does that as a side business. She says it’s healthy to have an active drive. I know she helped Judy through some of her issues.”

The vixen collapsed on the table in silent laughter and it took a bit for her to finally catch her breath, oddly enough at the same moment that Judy got the relief she was looking for and let out a long, drawn out squeal. “A Nicky-toy! That’s great!” 

“You’re getting way too much enjoyment out of this,” Nick groused, eventually snorting darkly. “Just don’t get on her about it, okay?”

“I won’t,” the vixen said with a wave of her paw, though still clearly amused. “So…does she use the toy often?”

“When she needs a quickie. It keeps me from…I’m not that old, but she is a bunny…” Skye laughed again and Nick realized how much he missed hearing his oldest friend’s laugh, the sound high and pure and just…good. “Just don’t pick on her too much about it.”

The vixen lifted her paw to pat the other fox’s cheek before going back to preparing her clothing, using a steamer to remove wrinkles while adding a pleasant herbal scent. Judy stumbled out of the bathroom looking somewhat disheveled and supremely satisfied.

Nick looked up as the bunny stepped up to him and nuzzled herself into his side before sauntering over to the weight bench. “Anyone up for a naked workout?” she asked before sitting on the padded bench.

* * *

Things continued to go smoothly until Nick and Judy returned to work, though they did their best to depart quietly, Skye was more alert than the first night she’d spent at the apartment, and sat up as soon as the other fox and bunny began moving around. She sat up and rubbed at her face as the pair made their way to the door.

“Did we wake you?” Judy asked in a chagrined tone of voice.

The vixen shook her head. “It’s okay,” she grumbled, rubbing at her face, “I wake up at the lightest sounds.  Part of my training.”

“There’s coffee in the pot, Snowball,” Nick said as he paused at the door. “You have our numbers if you need.”

When Skye only nodded and waved vaguely, Nick and Judy smiled and closed the door, more than ready to get back to being police officers.

Once the two left, Skye sighed and laid back down across the couch.  She didn’t want to admit it, but it was good to have a few hours without Nick and Judy hanging around.  Judy seemed to have taken the idea of them being friends and ran with it, treating her like nothing so much as a sibling or close friend.  Nick had explained after the first day that Judy’s ease with nudity—which didn’t _bother_ Skye but did make her somewhat uncomfortable, given Judy’s relationship with Nick—was borne of being raised in a large household where nakedness was an everyday thing, and cultivated further by a membership at the local nudist club. Beyond that, Judy simply seemed to have no filter when it came to sex.  Skye liked to think of herself as enlightened in that respect, but hearing about the sex life she could have had but would forever be denied….

It got to her.  The whole thing was stressful for her, and more than once during the last several days she left the apartment just to get away from it.  That afforded her the opportunity to line up a job or two for the next week, which was fortunate.  While the officers were away, Skye decided to take the time to do some preparation work for the jobs she had going.  It would take some concentration and time, both of which she had finally.

Meanwhile back at the ZPD, it was like nearly every other morning, the routine salving residual confusion and discomfort about the situation. They stopped for coffee before entering the spacious halls of Precinct One, chatting with a few other officers as they ambled to the bullpen. There was the standard level of good-natured joking and bonding amongst the various cops as fox and bunny took their normal shared seat until Chief Bogo entered and immediately got to business. The cape buffalo doled out assignments, fortunately Delgato and Fangmeyer drawing parking detail, though Nick and Judy both wondered if they’d done something wrong as the imposing bovine waited to talk to them last, waiting for the others to clear out first.

“Is the situation resolved?” Bogo asked, his tone far more gentle and, while not quite warm, was friendly.

“It is, Sir,” Judy replied with a half smile and firm nod. Next to her Nick also mimicked the gesture.

“Good. You have no idea how happy that makes me. Firing officers is just too much paperwork,” he grunted, though the quick look he cast took the edge off the gruff statement. “Now, since you two have proven adept at this sort of case before I need you to look into a missing mammal case. Little Rodentia. To be honest it sounds more like a husband going on a bender, but I want the two of you to check it out.”

“Already on our way out,” Nick said as he slid off the chair and headed for the door.

Judy also slid down before Bogo stopped her. “Hold on, Hopps.” The bull looked at the fox with an unreadable expression. “Can you give us a moment, Wilde?”

“Sure thing, Chief,” the fox replied with a curious look before closing the door and leaving the Chief and Judy alone.

The bunny looked up, a trill of anxiety rolled through her as she caught the full brunt of the cape buffalo’s scrutiny. “Is something wrong, Sir? We really are in a better place, now.”

“Are you sure?” Bogo grunted.

“Absolutely!”

The Chief crossed his large arms over his large chest, seeming to fill the empty room. “Then you want to explain the injury to your head?”

“What?” the doe asked before realization dawned on her. “Oh! I…I slipped after the shower and hit a table.”

Bogo looked unconvinced. “It looks a little worse than a bump, Hopps.”

“Sir?”

“Are you sure this isn’t from…not to be too blunt…but caused from domestic violence? It’s happened before, Hopps. If something’s going on, I need to know.”

Judy shook her head emphatically. “No, Sir! Nick would never hit me! I can’t believe that-“

“And who was the vixen looking for Wilde the other night? Would she do something like this? Do you know her?” Bogo pressed, his scowl softening to something almost paternal. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It happens, but it doesn’t have to. We can help if you’re being abused.”

“I’m not being abused!” Judy almost shouted. “I had an accident! And that vixen was one of Nick’s oldest friends and wouldn’t hurt me either. If anything she’s becoming a good friend! Neither one of them would hurt me and I wouldn’t lie about something like that, Chief! You know that I’ve seen my share of that shit!” The bunny was working herself up into quite the state. “I can’t believe that you’d accuse Nick of that!”

“Hopps,” the buffalo said as he paced a hoof on her shoulder. “I’ve seen domestic violence, too. And the thought of it happening to one of my officers is enough to freeze my blood.” He gave her an actual smile. “I believe you. But will you try to be more careful in the future?”

The almost apology helped bring Judy down and she nodded before plucking the case folder from Bogo’s other hoof and nodded. “I will, Chief,” she promised before heading out to meet up with Nick. She found him at Clawhauser’s desk. “Ready, Slick?”

The red fox nodded, said good-bye to the cheetah then walked side-by-side with the bunny, waiting until they were outside. “Domestic violence, huh?” he asked flatly.

“Shit,” Judy hissed. “You heard that?”

“Chief buffalo-butt has a voice that tends to carry,” he said stopping next to the cruiser he and Judy had been assigned. “Nice to see that prejudice against foxes is alive and well.”

“Nick, no! That’s…my head…” the bunny sputtered. “He had to ask. You’ve seen that sort of crap, too! It’s not because you’re a fox.”

“Are you sure?”

The twitching of Judy’s ears caused the cut to twinge a little as she stepped forward and grabbed Nick by his tactical vest and pulled the two of them together while lifting herself up on her toes. “You don’t hit. You treat me like an equal and I love you,” she said, punctuating the statement with a short but deep kiss, her tongue invading his maw before they parted. “I’ll fight any mammal that says otherwise. You get me?”

The flat look in Nick’s eyes thawed as a smile tugged at his mouth. “As you wish,” he told her, using a line from one of their favorite movies.

“Good,” Judy declared. “Now what do you think you’re doing?”

“Uh-uh, Carrots. Regulations. Forty eight hours before driving after any head injury.” Nick pulled the driver’s door open and glanced at his fiancée as his sunglasses appeared in his paw. “I will let you buy the next round of coffee, though.” The climbed in and got situated as Judy opened the folder. “So who have we got?”

“Brisby, Johnathon. Reported missing by his wife…” Judy flipped the pages. “It’s only been a few days, though.”

Nick looked around as he put the cruiser into gear and guided the large vehicle to the street. “Well, let’s go talk to Mrs. Brisby and see what we can find out.” 

* * *

Skye collected the gear she’d put together during the morning, put them in her bag, then slung the backpack and walked out of the apartment, locking it behind her.  She started walking through Savannah Central, her old stomping grounds, on her way to the small shop in Unity Square.  She’d heard from a contact the previous morning that the shop, a small family-owned grocery nestled in the main drag of the slum neighborhood Unity Square, was being harassed by a local gang.  The police at Precinct Three had been contacted multiple times but never did much more than sent cars around to patrol for a couple hours.  There simply wasn’t enough boots on the ground to handle such a minor complaint from a family of kit foxes.

Skye had agreed to help.  She couldn’t fight a gang war, but when she spoke to the shop owner, James Pouncel, the solution became clear.  The local gang was shaking down neighborhood businesses for “protection money”, meaning anyone who didn’t pay got trashed.  Gangs were, in practice, businesses; if Skye could convince the gang that staying in the neighborhood they’d moved into was more costly than they could afford, they would leave.  To do that, however, Skye needed intelligence.  It was for that reason that Skye had built a listening device from a burner cell and planned to plant it on one of the gang’s enforcers. 

On her way there, she passed through several neighborhoods with which she was quite familiar.  They all held differences from what she remembered, however, such as Kestrel Greens, which had been a fairly run down area six years ago but which now was cleaned up and beautiful.  She noticed though that in the cleanup the food cart that had always been on the corner of Fifth and Pride had been removed; the old red wolf who ran the cart had always been kind to Skye, and she hoped he was okay.  There was also several little shops along the length of Cypress that Skye remembered which were now gone.  The salon owned by a raccoon woman had been gutted completely and boarded up, while Jamie’s Deli had been replaced by a big-name sandwich company.

There was some cause for celebration, however, beyond the general increase in building and road quality in the district.  She spotted a café on the corner of Fang and Belladonna which had been there all her life.  When she left on her last fateful mission, the caracal who owned it was on his last legs, so to speak, only a week from closing up shop; he’d been driven nearly out of business for a number of reasons, and Skye expected to see the place boarded up like salon on Cypress, but it was instead booming, packed full and glittering with bright paint and clean windows. 

Her trip through Savannah Central left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.  Things changed;  some for the better, and others…not so much.

* * *

“Well, that was next to pointless,” Judy grumbled as she looked out the window of the passenger side, her chin resting on her paw. “Mrs. Brisby has no idea what happened to her husband,” she picked up the case folder and shook it. “Never mind that this was about useless!” The folder barely had more than the most basic information in it, nothing that either of them could have gleaned from a terminal in the precinct.

“We’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way, Carrots,” Nick told his partner as he tapped the brakes with the early evening traffic. “Huh. Is it me, or is rush hour getting worse each night?”

Judy shrugged, still put off of the lack of progress on the case, a non-committal sound accompanying it. It was frustrating to say the least, and without more to go on put the bunny into a less than stellar mood. She couldn’t even muster a commitment to the dinner ideas that her fox tossed out, brooding on the lack of information.

They eventually made the parking garage across the street from their building, many of the local residents feeling better at seeing the huge cruiser in the neighborhood as it was a quiet deterrence. A quick text to Skye that there was no definitive solution for dinner was answered with the vixen saying that supper was on her and that she’d bring something home with her once her appointments were done. They locked the cruiser once it was parked and headed across to their building. Nick grabbed the doors as Judy carried her half finished drink and the case folder.

It didn’t take long to divest themselves of their uniforms and equipment, Judy opting for one of her new thongs and a T-shirt while Nick went topless with his ZPD gym shorts, much as he always did after work. When the bunny tried to sit down with the folder her fox promptly plucked it out of her paws and set it on the glass top of the coffee table. “It’ll still be there tomorrow, fluffy-buns,” he said with a smile. “Time to work out some of that tension.”

Judy let herself be pulled up and led to the weight bench, pouting the entire few feet it took to enter their exercise area. “It’s not that, Nick. The file is too…well, it’s too clean, you know? It’s like it’s all…vanilla!”

“Yes,” Nick said as he picked the bunny up and plopped her down on the padded bench. “Vanilla. Now switch off. You haven’t exercised in a couple of days. C’mon, Carrots.”

Judy sighed in frustration but pulled her shirt of and got set, her paws wrapping around the bar of the of the dumbbell set to her normal weight and began to run through some reps after stretching quickly with Nick spotting her. Soon she began to feel the delectable burning sensation in her muscles. When she started to get winded Nick took the weights before helping his bunny to the leg lifts. “Okay, so the file’s a little thin. We’ll figure it out tomorrow and not worry about it tonight, alright? You promised me no more obsessing.”

Rolling onto her stomach Judy began leg curls, though not before sticking her tongue out at the fox. The bunny focused on the curls, though turned her head to find Nick looking at her, or more specifically her rump. She enjoyed it when he looked at her, the feelings that suffused her really rather delicious. She was near the end of the set when the door to the apartment opened and Skye announced herself.

The snowy vixen set bags on the dining table and glanced at the exercise section. That the two other mammals were in such a state of undress wasn’t surprising, but seeing Nick bared and looking far more toned than when she last saw him. Skye couldn’t help but stare for a few moments before shaking her head to clear the thoughts she was having. Then again, seeing Judy in even less didn’t help either. “I thought a vegetarian curry would be nice,” she said and pulled out a number of containers. “I’m going to change so dig in.”

Finishing up, Judy went into the kitchen for some water while Nick pulled down plates and utensils before carrying everything to the coffee table. “Any movie preference, Carrots?”

“No rom-com’s,” she said, looking in the fridge for a juice that might go with curry.

Nick smirked as he turned his head towards the bathroom. “Any movie preference with dinner, Snowball?”

The arctic fox came out, her slacks and jacket on a hanger while her other paw held her blouse and Skye’s shoulder holster and pistol. She shrugged as the blouse went into a collapsible laundry basket. “Anything’s good,” she said before setting her weapon on the table, her glance falling on the folder. “Is this a case?”

“Missing mammal,” Nick told her as he looked through the DVDs on a shelf before finding an old sword and sorcery film that wasn’t the best where effects were concerned, but there was plenty of action and sparse humor. “Doesn’t look too good for us finding him.”

Judy came in and hopped up into her normal spot on the couch and eyes the containers. “And there’s not a lot to go on.” 

Skye sat next to Judy and picked up the file, flipping it open.  She noticed in her peripheral vision how Judy’s expression tightened, likely thanks to a non-police officer looking at a police file, but she didn’t protest as Skye’s eyes scanned over the information listed, sparse as it was.  No job or tax history, no criminal record, no outstanding tickets or warrants, nothing at all that stood out in any way.  Then Skye saw the name.  Her hackles raised and her ears swept back. 

“Oh.”  She snapped the file shut and tossed it on the table.

Judy frowned at her.  “What?  What is it?  You know something.”

Skye looked over at her, her brow knitted in concern.  “No wonder you have nothing to go on, that’s a scrubbed file.”

Nick wandered around the table and sat, DVD remote in paw.  “What does that mean?”

“It means,” sighed Skye, “that the person in that file is involved closely with the ZIA.  In fact, he’s an actual ZIA Officer, I recognize his name.  Johnathon Brisby is legendary, there are no ZIA Officers in his size category better at what they do than him.  If he’s missing, it’s because he doesn’t _want_ to be found.  Call his wife, she’ll have whatever cover story he’s given about his whereabouts.”

The silence lasted a few seconds too long.

“He’s a _spy_?” whispered Judy, scandalized.  “ _Seriously?_ ”

“Skye,” said Nick, “his wife was the one who reported him missing.  She said he was supposed to be home last week.”

Skye took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.  “Okay.  I’ll make a call, see if I can find anything out.”  She stood, snagged her phone off the table, and stepped out into the hall.

As the door shut Judy looked at Nick. “Spy?” she whispered with a frown. “We’re trying to track down a spy?!”

The red fox shook his head as he held up a paw. “We’re just following a request by a distraught wife. If he is missing or something else has happened it’s out of our paws. We have to let the ZIA handle it.”

“But that’s absolute pucky! We can’t-“

“Judy,” Nick said with enough of an edge to stop the bunny before she could get worked up. “We don’t interfere with ZIA, and you know it. Remember what happened with Hoofstone. He didn’t back off and it cost him his career. It’s not our area.”

“But…”

Nick used the expression that he’d only used a few times before that told Judy to drop the subject as he waited for Skye to come back. Fortunately the wait wasn’t that long. “If Skye’s right, I’m letting Bogo know,” he told her with his own phone in paw, the Chief of Precinct One already to be dialed on the touch screen. 

Skye entered the apartment again just as Nick mentioned Bogo, and she was frowning, her ears swept back.  “I called my handler, Jack Savage.  He wasn’t supposed to tell me, but he said Officer Brisby is being held in an Agency hospital.  He’s in critical condition and they don’t think he’ll survive to the weekend.  You’re welcome to tell Bogo it’s a ZIA matter, but if you drop my name I’ll shoot you.”

Judy’s eyes widened with shock, the tone the vixen used too serious to disregard even as Nick tapped the call icon. “What name?” the red fox asked his friend with a smirk that was reminiscent of days long past. “Hey, Chief. About our missing mammal case…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nine chapters down, gods know how many left to go ;) So some of my more long-time readers will notice some cultural details borrowed from my _Sweetly United_ timeline. This is obviously still a different timeline altogether, but the culture stuff still works nicely :) If you have a comment, feel free to leave it for us!


	10. Reality Check

The morning was mild in temperature with the approaching fall season and the ZNN weather report informed Nick, Judy and Skye that there would be rain later in the afternoon as they listened, each with their own coffees. Judy had gotten the arctic vixen her own mug, one that started off black until it warmed where it would turn white with black pawprints. Despite things having reached a sort of equilibrium, Judy liked to dole out simple gifts to both foxes, a holdover from her childhood in Bunnyburrow, though part of it was missing out on certain moments. There was also a substantial portion of it stemming from learning of the past that the two vulpines had shared and how they were treated. It had all but broken Judy’s heart to hear of the treatment from other mammals. 

The little gifts wouldn’t even come close to making up for the cruelty of others in the past, but she felt that it was a step in the right direction.

“So, what’s on your agenda today?” Judy inquired brightly, far too perky in the morning for the foxes, Nick simply rolling his eyes as he took a long sip of the hot beverage in his own mug as he fought not to laugh at the long suffering look from Skye.

“Making more contacts,” the vixen said noncommittally. “There are a few potential clients that look promising.” She glanced at the couple. “What about you? Going to work hard making the world a better place?”

The bunny didn’t catch the slightly sarcastic tone and nodded vigorously while grinning earnestly. “Absolutely!” 

Skye could only shake her head at the bunny’s exuberance, still finding it unnatural that any mammal could be so…perky before the sun was up. In fact, it was positively unholy.

Nick shuffled over and topped off his mug and added to it, preferring his coffee in its natural state without doctoring. “Some mammals will be doing that. Others will be going to the ZPA for yearly re-qualifications. Eight fun hours of physical fitness tests, written tests, scenario tests and range time. Oh, and then we get to talk to the latest round of cadets so that we can tell them that they’ll get to enjoy hours and hours of boring routine interspersed with moments of sheer terror and see if we can’t convince the ones not cut out for being cops to take their fuzzy-wuzzy little tails back home.”

Judy shook her head while Skye leaned against the divider with a saucy tilt to her head. “Wow, Nick. Would you like some salt and lemon juice to go with that cynicism and bitterness?”

“Agreed!” Judy said, joining the vixen and leaning against Skye while mimicking her stance. “Re-qualifications are important!”

“Sure they are, Carrots,” Nick replied. “That’s why you got me up an extra twenty minutes early so I could be at my best.” Despite the heat, he tilted the mug back and all but dumped the contents into his maw. “Oh, well. I’m up, I’m sort of caffeinated, so let’s go. DO you need the car today, Snowball?”

Skye shrugged. “It would help. I’ll even top it off for you.”

Nick nodded and set his cup next to the sink and headed for the door before stopping and turning back. “I’m trusting you. Be nice to ‘Little Blue’.”

“Not a scratch,” the vixen promised.

Nick nodded, a slightly troubled look.

“Seriously, Nick. She won’t get a scratch. Bullet holes maybe. No scratches, though.”

Judy broke out in a laugh while the red fox looked slightly sick until he saw the mischievous twinkle in the vixen’s eyes. “You are a cruel fox, Snowball.”

* * *

Morning briefing and roll call went fairly quickly and Judy was assigned roving patrol detail. Essentially the bunny would drive around keeping an eye out for trouble while making herself available as backup for other officers that might need assistance. It wasn’t the best assignment, nor was it the worst. And, as far as the doe was concerned, was far more desirable than parking duty. That and the cruiser offered better protection with the building cloud cover than the Parking Enforcement Vehicle that Nick had dubbed the ‘Joke-mobile’. That was an apt description as no one in the department ever felt as if they were being taken seriously when assigned traffic detail.

The other benefit of being in a cruiser was that it was more likely civilian traffic would see her and not run Judy over, unlike the PEV that was smaller than some cars’ wheels.

It felt off not having Nick with her, Judy missing the banter, witty comments or even moments of deep insight that her fox graced the bunny with, particularly with life in the city. Even after a little better than three years she was still learning about Zootopia. It would take many more years before Judy was as familiar with the streets, alleys and shortcuts that Nick knew, but she was getting there. Her growing knowledge and familiarity enabled her to pay more attention to what was happening outside the police vehicle, of the ebb and flow of mammals going about their day, the traffic around her. 

And it was that developed ability that enabled Judy to spot Nick’s little hatchback at a parking meter ahead and the white flash of Skylar Toklo’s tail as she dipped into an alley at the next block. With a quick call to Clawhauser running dispatch to let them know she was going to be on foot for a bit, Judy pulled over and parked the cruiser, trying to maintain a discreet distance. Granted, following Skye wasn’t the most respectful thing to do, but Judy couldn’t ignore the sudden surge of curiosity as to what the vixen actually did. 

The bunny plugged an earpiece into her radio before affixing it to her left ear as following someone was far easier when they couldn’t hear the normal police chatter. It took but a moment to make sure all of her equipment was in place and to lock the cruiser before she bounded off to the alley that the white fox had vanished down.

* * *

Skye dressed in the expensive suit before leaving, and when she neared Unity Square she found a place to park and walked the rest of the distance.  Her chosen cover ID necessitated hiding the fact that she was driving such a relatively low-end vehicle.  If she had access to something more expensive, it would be better, but she made due.

She knew from the intelligence gathered from her listening device placed last week that the local gang’s boss was going to be at James’ store personally.  The kit fox had, at Skye’s insistence given the gang boss’s peons trouble that morning, which led to the boss going out to convince the kit fox to capitulate.

It would be a short conversation, punctuated with violence.  That’s why Skye was here.  She arrived just in time, crossing the street and putting on an aloof and cold demeanor just as the sleek car and an SUV pulled up to Pouncel’s Grocery.  James, an older guy and tall for a kit fox, came storming out of his shop as Skye reached the sidewalk.

“What do you think you’re doing here?!” shouted James at the coyote who was climbing out of the back seat of the car.  “I told your boys this morning if they—“

Skye interrupted him by placing a paw on his throat and shoving him bodily back into the shop.  Then she closed the door and turned on the coyote, who was joined by four more of the lanky canines.  The bodyguards, who climbed out of the SUV, were simply dressed and carried carbon-fiber self-defense batons clipped to their belts.  The boss, however, wore a cheap three-piece suit of blue and white, and he had three pistols hidden on his person:  one in the inner breast pocket of his jacket, one under his armpit, and one at his ankle. 

“I came to see the man you just assaulted,” growled the coyote.  “Step aside.”

Skye stared back at him impassively, and when she spoke it was with no inflection, very measured and dead sounding.  “That man belongs to me.  You can speak to me, or you can leave.”

The coyote’s eyes narrowed.  “I don’t think you know where you are, little vixen.  This is _my_ neighborhood.”

“No longer.”  Skye’s arms hung loosely at her sides, very near where her own hidden sidearm was located.  She intended not to use it, but one could never be too careful.

“I see you don’t know _who_ you’re dealing with either, bitch,” snarled the coyote.  He took a breath to continue, but Skye interrupted him, speaking as impassively as she had been, but her eyes narrowed.

“Scott Theodor Buchanan, now known as Scotty Crimson.  So called because they say you killed seventy-three mammals to get where you are today, but in reality you’ve only killed fifteen.  You run one of the more well-known gangs of Savannah Central, but you command less actual power than many of the lesser known groups around.  You’ve been in jail twenty-three times, but have never been convicted of the crimes you’ve committed.  I know well who I’m speaking to, Scott.

“I just don’t care.”

Scott looked taken aback, then angry.  “Get your piece of garbage tail off my property, before you get hurt.”

Skye tilted her head to one side.  “Who’s going to hurt me?  You?  You come here armed with three different pistols and flanked by four body guards; you’re bigger than them, but you’ll let them fight before you’ll step in, even against a smaller opponent.  You’ll justify it by saying you’re the boss, but really you’re just afraid.  You act high and mighty but deep down you’re a pusillanimous wretch quivering in the dark of your own uncertainty.  You seek power in the vain hope that power will give you courage, and the more you get…the more uncertain you become.”

“ _Damn_ ,” giggled one of the bodyguards, impressed despite himself.

Scott backhanded the bodyguard who spoke, then turned his furious glare back on Skye.  “Get. Out. Of my. _Way_.”

“I’m claiming Unity Square as my own,” replied Skye.  “Leave.”

Scott, shaking in fury by now, turned on his bodyguards.  “Take her apart.  Don’t come back until she’s dead.”  Then he turned on his heel and got in the car, slamming the door.  The driver pulled off from the curb as the bodyguards moved to surround Skye. 

Exactly as she’d planned.

“You boys won’t be going back,” commented Skye dryly.

Skye assessed the four thugs quickly, immediately cataloguing each as her eyes swept impassively over them. Coyotes were larger than foxes, which meant more muscle and greater mass. But that wasn’t always an advantage. She also noted peripherally that the street had cleared almost instantly, though that wasn’t an unexpected thing. Unity Square had never been what one could call a good neighborhood, and in the years since the vixen had been away it had slid even further downhill. 

“I think we gonna fuck you up, little foxie,” the coyote on the inside right said with a leer. “Then we gonna fuck you. I likes me a nice tailed bitch and you do look good.”

Before the thug could even lick his chops in anticipation, Skye was in motion.

Paw-to-paw combat training in the ZIA wasn’t any particular style, utilizing several different combat forms. First and foremost to the instruction Skye had received was adaptability. It was also drilled into her that when conflict was unavoidable that she should fight to win. There was no such thing as cheating when her life was on the line, and that playground concepts of fair play were infantile and foolish. Real life had no such rules, as she’d learned more than once.

Even as the coyote’s fingers wrapped around the striated handle of his baton, the vixen stepped in with her punch, turning momentum into kinetic force as her palm pad impacted with his sternum, the blow to the nerve ganglion. His fetid breath was expelled in a grunt that was cut short as the vixen jerked her arm up in a follow through, her elbow connecting with his jaw and receiving a yelp of pain as teeth cracked and splintered.

The attack had happened so fast that the other three coyotes didn’t move until the first was on the ground, paws holding his broken jaw as blood poured out between fingers with the trauma to his long snout from the hit. The remaining three gang members were a bit more experienced, almost falling back into the instinctual pack mentality as two launched themselves at the vixen, the last and smallest of the group waiting for her to be subdued.

Another lesson that Skye had been taught during her training was to avoid blows to the testicles of male opponents. While it could be effective, the normal reaction to such an attack was a surge of adrenaline and rage that would negate the action. Knees, however, were always viable targets, and as the coyote moving towards Skye’s right lurched at her she swept her leg in a s low arc. It was less of a kick as her foot and toe pads came into contact with his leg before she extended her own, pushing off with enough force that she felt the pop as the joint dislocated. The coyote let out an ear piercing cry as he curled up on the sidewalk, his paws wrapped protectively around his leg before vomiting with the pain of tendons being stressed beyond their limits and tearing.

Unfortunately the third canid was a bit faster than the fox had anticipated and managed to get his carbon fiber baton free, though his swing was a little clumsy, the tip catching Skye just below her ribs, though she was able to twist with the impact to prevent bones from being broken. After all, fighting was more than learning to hit, but also learning how to take a blow to minimize potential damage. That didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be some bruising, though.

His lips pulled back to expose long, glistening teeth, the coyote that had landed the baton lowered himself into a stance that was common with street fighters, experienced ones at least. It was preferred because it was effective, and provided good coverage for defending against an attack while also leaving the fighter in position to react to and exploit an opening.

* * *

Judy had tried her best to slip down the alleyway unnoticed, dodging behind dumpsters and containers with substances she really didn’t want to think too hard about. She didn’t think Skye had seen her and made it to the end just as the sound of a car pulling away, something with a high performance engine if the excessive blatting from the exhaust was any indication, and heard voices, one of which was definitely the white vixen’s.

Before she could round the corner a yelp of pain made it to her sensitive ears and fearing the worst bounded the remaining length, emerging just in time to see a pack of coyotes, one on the ground with a bloody muzzle, another that crumpled like a stack of building blocks that had been knocked over as a white blur in a business suit engaged a third. Despite her training, Judy couldn’t help but watch with stunned amazement as Skye and the coyote she faced off against traded blows and parries, the smaller vixen actually driving the larger canid back slowly but steadily. Punches, swipes, kicks and slashes with claws were traded by the two, though the vixen was able to land more hits than the coyote before she changed the fight up and stepped in close. A quick jab to the coyote’s throat distracted him enough that the vixen was able to spin while locking his arm over her shoulder and dropped with all of her weight. Whether the sound that accompanied the action was breaking bone or something else, Judy couldn’t tell as her attention was focused on the fourth canine as a knife appeared in his paw to offset the club in the other. 

Even as the coyote began to move, his arm swinging out wide to drive the blade into Skye, Judy was in motion, darting forward under the power of her strong legs before turning so that she led with her feet, curling up with her muscles tensed. As soon as the bunny made contact she extended with all of her might, grunting to expel the air from her lungs to add a bit more force to the dual kick. The transfer of inertia was enough to send the coyote who was caught completely unaware into the side of the dark SUV parked at the curb, the door panel collapsing at the weight of the body flung into it. The knife clattered harmlessly to the ground with the very unconscious canid slipping to the filthy gutter like a discarded ragdoll, though Judy didn’t wait to see if he was getting back up, already in motion as the coyote with the bloodied muzzle sat up, his paw filled with something that caught the watery light that seeped through the overcast sky.

She barely made it to the fox, yanking her away as a tiny ‘POP!’ sounded, the doe feeling like she’d just been punched in the chest.

* * *

Skye turned her head in time to see Judy barreling from the alley before sailing through the air to the last of the coyotes, then watched as the bunny leapt towards her, something indefinable in her amethyst eyes. It wasn’t until she saw movement out of the corner of her eye that Skye realized the first coyote was starting to recover, and realized too late that he had a derringer in his paw. It was single barrel, something that could be bought cheaply and discarded quickly, but the little .22 caliber holdout pistol could be quite lethal. It wasn’t until it was discharged, a small flash accompanying the sound, that Sky realized what the stupid rabbit was doing and watched as Judy flinched with the impact. Unlike the movies, gunshots didn’t throw a mammal backwards, nor did they ever properly depict just how much blood accompanied even small caliber wounds.

Without even thinking about it, Skye plucked the discarded baton from her opponent off the ground and threw it with a casual flick of her wrist, the end of the club striking the coyote squarely between the eyes and dropping him like the sack of garbage he was. A quick survey indicated that there wouldn’t be anymore trouble from the coyote pack, and it was with that reassurance that Skye turned her attention to the bunny.

Either from adrenaline, or perhaps just her very un-rabbit like tenacity, Judy all but leapt to her feet, her head whipping about looking for more threats and ignoring the vixen trying to get her attention.

“ _Hopps_ ,” hissed Skye for the fifth time, then she gave up and lifted the rabbit bodily by the back of her vest.  She paused long enough to kick the last coyote savagely across the face just to make sure he stayed unconscious before she stalked across the street to enter the alley and make her way back to the car.  “What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?!  I can’t be seen with a _cop_.  Are you _trying_ to get me _killed?!_ ”  When they reached the hatchback, Skye tossed Judy on the hood of the car, ignoring Judy’s sputtering and stammering and gasping, and pulled the Kevlar vest from the bunny’s torso.

She prodded her chest as she continued to speak heatedly, making sure the bunny wasn’t severely injured.  “What the fuck are you doing here anyway, Judy?  This isn’t even Precinct One’s jurisdiction.”  Finally, she stepped back and tossed the vest back at the rabbit.  “Vest stopped the bullet.  You got _lucky_.  Get in the car.”  She stalked around and threw herself into the driver’s seat.

Judy batted the vest away, her own temper starting to rise, only to find that the fox was already in Nick’s car. “Stop! I can’t leave a crime scene!” She would deny it, but the bunny actually stomped her foot on the pavement. She pointed back towards the alley. “What the hell was that about, Skye?! Who were they and what in all of bunny-fuckdom were you doing fighting with them? Have you lost your fuzzy mind?!”

As her temper rose, so did Judy’s voice, adrenaline and delayed reaction to the events of just moments before flooding her blood with a mélange of hormones.

“I have to call this in!” 

Skye carefully got out of the car and stood at her full height, enunciating the rabbit’s name very clearly and drawing on every ounce of willpower she possessed.  “Judith.  Laverne.  Hopps.  Get. In.  _The car._ ”

Like every child ever born and conditioned by their parents during their most formative years, Judy obeyed, though that her name was said with a tone that Bonnie Hopps wished she could perfect. Though the bunny complied with the order that didn’t mean that she was letting the argument go and slammed the door shut before yanking the seatbelt across her body. Even fuming as she was, Judy tried and failed to hide the wince that accompanied the action. 

“What the fuck’s going on, Skye?” she asked softly through grit teeth. She felt the fox’s eyes on her before the anger drained away and a single tear welled up in her eye before she dashed it away. “Do…do you know what it would do to Nick if you got hurt? Or me?” 

Suddenly her ire rose again and the doe turned on the vixen.

“And what the hell was with using my full name? I’m not your goddamned kit for you to bark at me like that!” She threw her arms across her chest before gasping at the bruising she could already feel from the gunshot. “Fuck!!!” 

Skye started the car, then took a deep, slow breath before pulling out of the parking lot.  “Names have power, Judy,” she said simply.  “You need to hear me before you start calling things in.”  She saw in her peripheral vision the confusion and indignation give way over several moments to grudging and even almost horrified understanding.  There was no magic to it, not in the conventional sense, but Judy was beginning to understand just how much control a simple name gave someone.

After a moment of silence, Skye sighed.  “Call in your lunch break.  We’ll get fast food.”

Once the lunch call was taken care of and they’d pulled into a fast food chain restaurant, Skye parked and turned the car off.  “First off, those coyotes attacked me.  I didn’t attack them.  Zootopia has laws allowing people to defend themselves.  So whatever else you think about what happened, you have to understand that.  Fighting them wasn’t breaking any laws, because they attacked first.  They were there to shake down James Pouncel for protection money.  I agreed to help.”

Judy huffed in irritation.  “He should have gone to the police.  Protection rackets are illegal, we’d have sorted it out.”

Skye looked at Judy flatly.  “He _did_ , Judy.  The police at Precinct Three told him there was nothing they could do.  You call that fight in and two things will happen.  Number one, I’ll go to prison for aggravated assault.  Don’t even give me that offended look, Judy.  I’m a fox.  I could be attacked on ZPD grounds and not defend myself and I’ll still get arrested for assault and you know it.  The second thing that’ll be done is, once I’m in jail the whole thing will be dropped.  Nobody cares what happens in Unity Square.  Investigations that start there never go anywhere.  You’ll just get dragged along too.  Put it to rest.”

The bunny paused in her nibbling of a stick of tempura sweet potato and thought about it. 

Skye was right. No matter how far the city had come, it still had a long way to go, and foxes, as well as several other species such as raccoons, skunks and weasels were still treated with discrimination, no matter how much the proved otherwise. Judy herself had learned to stop profiling mammals, but she was just one rabbit in a vast police department that wasn’t any better than the rest of Zootopia. 

And the arctic vixen was right.

With a sudden loss of appetite, Judy dumped her lunch back into the bag, what she’d already eaten feeling like lead in her stomach. Three years. She had been a cop for three years and was still not all that far from the naïve bumpkin bunny that had come to Zootopia with serious misconceptions while being dazzled by the wonder of the city. Then she learned that the golden metropolis was just glitter on pasteboard and that there was a darker, tarnished city beneath it. That had been a blow, but Nick had been there to help her past the shock.

Not unlike another fox at the moment…

“Just when I think things might be getting better,” Judy told her companion softly with a rueful smile. She sniffed and pressed back against the familiar seat, blinking away the stinging feeling in her eyes. “But you’re right. You wouldn’t be treated fairly. No fox is in this place, are they? Maybe Justice really is blind…and a deaf, mute bitch as well.” She rubbed at her face. “Things aren’t just this-way-or-that, either, huh? No such luck in black or white?” Judy gave a hopeful, almost kit like look of pleading to the vixen.

It was once more a demonstration that Judith Hopps was an innocent. 

Skye turned in her seat to face Judy full on.  “No, Judy, it’s not black and white.  You’ve been a cop for how long now?  Three years?  You’ve spent all that time obeying the letter of the law.  Everything you did was based on whether it was legal or not, and following the assumption that legal means good.

“Nick told me you want to make the world a better place.  Part of that is making sure just laws are enforced, but you’re missing the big picture, Judy.  The law isn’t meant to bring good to the world.  It never was.  All law is capable of doing is bringing _order_.  Laws are made by those in power, and those who make the law determine what’s good and what’s not.  You think you’re bringing good by obeying laws?  Think again.  Back when I was a kid there was a law on the books that said foxes as young as twelve years old could be treated as adults at the arresting officers’ discretion.  There was another law that said any physical contact between a predator and a prey was pred-on-prey aggravated assault.  Period.  It was even worded in such a way that the predator could be tried and convicted _even if the prey refused to press charges_.”

Judy shook her head, shocked, refusing to accept it.  “No.  But that was years ago.  We’re better now.”

Skye scoffed.  “Really?  You know when the predator assault law was repealed?  Six weeks before I left on my last mission.  That was just six years ago.”

Judy stared past Skye for a long moment, digesting it, and the conflict in her eyes was clear.  After a moment, she refocused on Skye.  “And…the fox age law?  When was that repealed?”

Skye stared hard into Judy’s eyes, saw the glimmer of hope shining within, and watched when she spoke as that hope died. 

“It wasn’t.”

Skye turned away, righting herself in her seat, and leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes.  Beside her, Judy sat frozen, shock and righteous anger filling her.

Judy clenched her paws into fists, her breath coming in quick gusts, and then she reached up to her chest and plucked the badge off her uniform, flinging it onto the dashboard.  Then she closed her eyes against the coming tears.  She felt stupid, even childish.  She’d spent her entire childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood preparing to be a police officer, and had given the last four years of her life to the force, and it was all…for a lie. 

A large, soft paw grasped her fist, easing it open, and when Judy opened her eyes to see what was happening, she saw Skye placing the badge gently into the palm of her paw.  Skye looked at her almost sadly, and shook her head.

“I help people in ways the police never can,” whispered Skye.  “I break laws when I need to, so that I can make people’s lives better.  But I can’t do it all alone.  We need good cops, Judy.  We need officers who can look past the law, who can look past policy.  Officers who can do what’s _right_ …even if it means bending the rules.  Officers who know that the law has its purpose, and can do good with it. 

“ _You_ can be that officer, Judy.  We need _you_.”

The bunny let her eyes fall to the badge, then to the white furred fingers and paw that still held her own before looking into the soft blue of Skye’s eyes that darkened a few shades. The tightness in her chest made her glad that she wasn’t wearing her body armor at the moment. Others had told her they needed her, that there was a good cop, that they wished there were more like her. But when the vixen said it, Judy couldn’t help but believe it was true. Still, she was just one, small bunny. And as bad as things were, Judy felt it would be easier for her to move a mountain by herself. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it, trying twice more to put her thoughts into words.

“I…I want to make the world a better place…I want to do what’s right…” Judy admitted in a soft voice full of doubt as her brows pinched together. “Why is it that you and Nick are the only ones that make me feel like I can?” 

Skye raised her paw and cupped Judy’s cheek softly, rubbing her thumb along Judy’s cheekbone.  “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. The world is cold and dark, Judy.  But you know what?  You and me and Nick?  We are such stuff as dreams are made on.”  Skye pulled Judy into a careful but tight hug.  “You took a bullet for me.  You saved my life.  Thank you.”

Feeling the warm, strong arms around her allowed that tiny spark to flare that told Judy she was alive and had gotten to the other side of a bad situation. That it was Skye holding her made it feel just that much more special and returned the embrace, her paws clutching at the firm body underneath the suit as the bunny buried her face in the juncture of the vixen’s neck and shoulder. It felt…good to be there at that moment. Good and right, with Skye’s scent tickling her nose… With a tremble Judy sucked in a breath and tried to nestle closer before lifting her head so that she could nuzzle the vixen’s throat and cheek in a way that had become so natural with Nick.

At that moment, it felt so good to be alive. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are falling into place. Boy this has been a wild ride, and Selaxes and I are soo enjoying this. We're proud (and a little sad) to say we're almost done here. Just one or two chapters to go, for good or for ill. 
> 
> Major warning! No matter how the next chapter goes, there very well may be some explicit content at the end. We'll do our best to telegraph that so that if you want to skip all of that you can do so. But I mean....with Selaxes at the keyboard you know it'll be worth reading :P
> 
> I can't guarantee how long it'll take us to get to the next chapter. It could be tonight or it could next week. I know Selaxes is still trying to knock out a couple chapters of his own, so we'll see what happens.
> 
> Oh and by the way! For those who think about these things...I've decided who voices Skylar Toklo in my head: Michelle Rodriguez. I think it's excellent. Ta for now!


	11. It Takes Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half and the last little bit of this chapter are pretty clean and safe to read. The middle, however, is extremely explicit. In case you'd prefer to avoid reading the sex scene, I've added a Horizontal Line before it starts and after it ends. So if you'd like to skip that section, those are your markers. If you _do_ skip the sex, I would recommend still reading the last several paragraphs after the second line cut. Either way, please enjoy!

Nick trudged up the stairs in his apartment building, wishing desperately that the elevator was working.  Usually he didn’t use it, didn’t need it, but despite his relative fitness the day’s tests had wiped him out completely.  His muscles were sore and his feet aching.  He should have known, of course, that the one day he’d want to use the elevator it would be out of order.  He took the three flights of stairs slowly and when he got to the landing he stopped for a breather.  Nick knew from prior experience that a hot meal and a good soak in the bath would set him right again, and he set off down the hall to his apartment looking forward to exactly that.

When he stepped into the apartment, however, and saw the disposition of the occupants, his stomach knotted.  Judy, looking nothing so much as excited and cheeky, sat at one end of that old green couch he’d had for so long, while Skye sat at the other end, her legs folded delicately under her, leaning on the arm of the couch with a smug sort of expression that was edged with what could have been described as stress.  Resting on the glass coffee table before them were three plates, two scraped clean and one piled with a shrimp and chicken fried rice. 

Memories came, as he stopped dead in the open doorway.  Memories of months ago when Judy, nowhere near the cook her mother was, had tried to cook pancakes for the both of them and failed miserably.  Memories of years ago when Skye would return from long missions and she decompressed not with running or television or video games like normal soldiers and spies but with cooking, spending several hundred dollars at once to buy two months worth of food that she’d spend two days cooking.  Nick had always appreciated those times because it gave him lots of good food made by an excellent cook, and then they’d take the vast majority of it and share it with the neighborhood’s homeless population.  The two of them couldn’t eat that much food themselves, after all, and it gave both of them a certain satisfaction knowing that for those particular mammals the word “fox” meant kindness and warm food.

One of Skye’s specialties was chicken and shrimp fried rice, her own recipe with its own distinct smell from spices Skye had always refused to identify.  That smell was saturating the apartment, coming no doubt from the plate waiting for him. It put him on edge, because while Skye was a fantastic cook and enjoyed doing it…it was something she’d only ever done when stressed or upset. 

“…Skye cooked,” said Nick, finally, looking between the girls.  Judy scoffed in irritation, Skye smirked triumphantly, and Judy passed fifty bucks over to Skye.

“You couldn’t just _pretend_ you didn’t recognize her cooking?” groused Judy good-naturedly.  She patted the cushion between her and Skye.  “Come sit, eat your dinner.  Tell us how the requalifications went.”

Nick closed the door finally and walked past the couch to change out of his PT gear and into something less musky and more comfortable.  “It went fine,” said Nick as he changed in the bedroom area.  “Hell, I did better than most of them.  Still have the second highest marksmanship score in the ZPD.”  He came out of the bedroom area dressed in casual jeans and a dark tee shirt and sat between the girls.  “So.  What are you two up to?”

Judy didn’t have much of a poker face.  “We’re not up to anything,” she lied.  “Eat your dinner, it’s delicious.”

“Your rabbit really surprised me, Nick,” commented Skye dryly.  “I didn’t know rabbits could eat chicken.  She stole half of the chicken on my plate after discovering I’d left it out of her portion.”

Nick chuckled.  “Yeah, apparently they’re not allergic to meat protein.  They just have no reason to eat it.  Judy gets these really bad cravings sometimes, I think it has to do with being around me for so long.  But you’re trying to change the subject and distract me and it won’t work.  What’s going on?”

Judy sighed.  “Goddamn it, Nick.”  She pulled out her wallet, took another fifty bucks from it, and passed them over to Skye, who slipped the cash into her backpack with another smirk.  Then Judy scooted over close to Nick, putting a paw on his lower back while Skye unfolded herself from her spot at the other end and got closer as well, sweeping her tail around to drape across his.

Judy took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.  “So, we need to talk.”

“Judy and I were talking,” continued Skye.  “And we had an idea.  We need to discuss it with you, get your opinion.”

The contact from both females at the same time caused a momentary thrill to run up Nick’s spine before something on the edge of panic gripped him and he felt his tail fur bristle and the sudden urge to bolt to safety took over any form of rational thought. Before he could even tense his tired muscles to flee paws from both bunny and vixen came to rest on his shoulders to keep him in place.

“Really,” the red fox said, his voice tainted with worry and carrying a brittle edge, “what’s going on?”

Judy and Skye glanced at each other before the white vixen snorted softly. “Eat. We’ll talk, you eat. I can hear your stomach rumbling and you get cranky when you’re hungry.”

“Which is almost all the time,” Judy added with a smile as her fingers brushed the fur at the back of Nick’s neck while Skye lightly scratched at the base of his ears. “I guess that we…me and Skye, have talked and come to the conclusion that we can’t go on like we have. It’s hurting all of us.”

The vixen nodded. “It really is. And it’s not fair to any of us.”

“I know you love me,” the bunny said, her eyes warm and full of affection. “But I also know that you love Skye, but you won’t say it because you don’t want to hurt me or lead Skye on.”

Nick started to shake his head. “I don’t…” he began before frowning and slumping where he sat. “How did…how did you know?”

“Jeez-o-flip, Nick!” Judy exclaimed with a laugh. “Really? Even I could tell!” she said and touched her nose. “Besides, when I asked you if you still loved her you said yes.” 

Both bunny and vixen leaned closer, Skye pulling his plate closer with a, “It’s getting cold,” while Judy put the fork closer, “Eat while it’s still warm,” the doe added.

With little recourse Nick began to eat, though he continued to turn from one to the other like he was at a tennis match, though his eyes betrayed his nerves.

“We also think that having to choose between us is a crock. No matter what happens someone is going to get hurt,” Judy told him as she picked up the conversation again.

Skye nodded with a sad smile. “None of us wants to hurt the other two, so Judy came up with the idea.”

“It wasn’t just me,” the bunny laughed with a shake of her head. “I think I figured it out when I kissed Skye…”

Rice, chicken and shrimp went flying across the room as Nick sputtered and began coughing, both females pounding on the red fox’s back as he tried to catch his breath. “You…you did what?!”

“Well, she kissed you,” Judy replied petulantly before leaning closer and whispering theatrically. “She’s a really good kisser, by the way!”

Skye made a chiding noise as she sucked at her teeth and shook her head. “I think we just need to tell him what we’ve come up with before he chokes to death.” The white vixen looked from one to the other and let out her breath. “You love us. We both love you, and there is more than just friendship between Judy and I.”

“Yeah,” Judy said as she reached across Nick to place her paw over the arctic fox’s. “So, why not make this the three of us? All of us get what we want and no one gets hurt.”

Nick leapt up and cleared the table and his supper in a single bound before whirling to face the vixen and bunny. “Have the two of you lost your ever loving minds?” he asked sharply, his voice climbing higher as his eyes widened in complete shock. 

“Really, Nick?”  Skye sat back and folded her arms across her chest, face settling into a glare borne of irritation and more than a little hurt.  “Do you have another suggestion?  Something better that won’t hurt everyone involved?  Or do I just not measure up anymore?”

Sputtering with a look of irritation Nick raised his paw with his finger extended before his arm dropped to his side, a frown replacing his earlier disbelief. “I…that’s not…” He ground his teeth and reached up to pull on his ears in frustration. “Of course you measure up! Both of you do! But…it’s…it’s crazy!”

It was Judy’s turn and she let her eyes harden slightly. “Crazy? Crazy is dancing around the subject like all three of us have been doing for the past couple of weeks. Crazy is denying that all three of us care about each other!”

Nick crossed his arms over his chest, his face turning into a frown at the accusations. “Oh? And what will you do if I sleep with her?” he asked the bunny with a jerk of his head at Skye. “And how will you deal with it if I feel like getting a little bit of bunny tail? Hmm?”

Vixen and doe looked at the other fox with flat expressions before Judy hopped up on the couch and marched the two steps to Skye. She took the arctic fox’s face in her paws and turned her head before kissing her deeply, muzzles opening and their tongues flitting together in intimate twining that lasted for several moments before they parted. Judy was slightly dazed, not having intended to get so wrapped up in the kiss while Skye’s ears flushed a deep pink.

“To answer your question,” the bunny said as she let the white fox pick her up and set her on her lap as they gazed at each other, “we’ll probably just join in.”

When they finally turned to Nick it was to see that his tail had puffed out like it sometimes did before a good thunderstorm while his muzzle hung open and his emerald eyes looked on with stunned disbelief. 

After a silent moment, Skye cleared her throat.  The kiss wasn’t exactly part of their plan so it had taken the vixen a little by surprise.  “Nick,” she said softly, “We’ve thought about this.  We talked it through.  Both of us have spent the last three weeks jealous of _each other_ , and that’s very bad.  But we can do this.  This way we’re not competing with each other.  This solves all our problems.”

Nick faltered, frowned, still caught off-guard.  His desire to have everything  he’d ever wanted warred with the ingrained social rules of the culture that said having more than one mate was base, wrong, selfish, _sinful_.  Feeling backed into a corner, he spoke without thinking, flinging the last possible protest he had.  “What about my mother, Skye?  The feud you and my mom have is toxic.  She hates you.”

Judy shot Nick an angry and alarmed look.  “Nicholas Wilde, that was _rude_.  I love Bethany, but I don’t care if she’s your mom or not.  Her influence on us ends at her doorway.  It’s none of her _business_ what we….”  Judy trailed off as Skye slowly stood from the couch.

Skye’s paws clenched into fists as she stood, her puffed up tail twitching and whipping around, reminding Judy of nothing so much as an angry cat’s, but much less fluid.  Her ears pinned back and her hackles raised.  A low growl emanated from Skye.  “How dare you bring her into this.  You’re in your _thirties_ , Nick.  That bitch has no place influencing your decisions.  She turned my _mother_ against me, Nicholas.  My mom died _hating me_ because of Bethany Wilde.  Don’t you dare use her feelings against me.”

The anger that emanated from the arctic vixen was almost palpable and realizing that he’d crossed a line, Nick felt his tail and ears slump as his head lowered. It was a low blow and completely uncalled for. It was also something of a taboo subject between the two foxes. He knew it was wrong even as the words left his muzzle and now turned his eyes to the floor, unable to look at either vixen or rabbit.

“I…you’re right…” he said, his voice barely audible as his body felt flushed and hot with shame and regret. He slowly lifted his face enough to look Skye in the eyes after a few moments. “I’m sorry. That…that was uncalled for and cruel…”

Instead of moving back to the couch, Nick simply folded his legs and sat where he was on the floor, dropping his gaze once more and curled his tail around himself in a sort of self protecting display of body language. 

“Skye…Judy…I…” the red fox began before taking a deep breath. “Do I want this?” he asked rhetorically, finally lifting his head. “You bet I do. Each of you has half my heart and soul. But…what will other mammals think of us…of doing what the two of you are suggesting?” His eyes locked onto Judy’s amethyst ones. “We’ve already gotten so much thrown at us for being an interspecies couple. How much more would we see if we become what the two of you are suggesting?

“Is it a sin?” Nick inquired, giving voice to his earlier thought. “Is it wrong? How do we explain it? Yes, I want this, but at the same time how much more can we take? What if-“

“Stop right there,” Judy said as she stood up, taking Skye’s paw and leading her over to the one they both loved. “You think I care about what others might say or think? Me, the first bunny cop? And what do you care? Huh, mister-first-fox-cop? When have we ever cared about what other mammals think about our personal choices? As for Bethany, tell her what I told some of my brothers and sisters that gave me funny looks. They either accept you…accept us, or they could get used to having one less sister. And if anyone really wanted to make a big deal out if it I promised I’d at least listen before tying their ears to their feet. It’s the same with Bethany. Your mom can either accept all three of us, or she can go and be bitter all on her lonesome. I love her, but this is _our_ lives and _our_ business and nobody else’s.”

Judy paused and squeezed Skye’s paw as she looked up at her. 

“And Skye is beautiful and she’s proven she’s our friend and so much more, Nick. So very much more! She stuck by you through so much shit, just like you did her, and she deserves to be loved, too. She deserves you more than I do, but she’s willing to share, and I’m willing to share, and _we_ are willing to share! And we both love you back, so how is that a sin? How is that wrong?”

The bunny looked up once more prompting the vixen to speak while her other paw settled on Nick’s shoulder. 

“Nick, why do you even care about what’s supposedly sinful or not anyway?”  Skye knelt next to him and put a paw on his other shoulder.  “You’ve never liked the Church of the Lamb, and you don’t believe in their ‘sin’ either.  Look, Judy is right.  We can’t get _married_ , not a state-legal marriage, but there’s nothing wrong with this.  As long as we all consent, there’s nothing morally or legally wrong with this.  The naysayers can go to hell, the purists can go to hell, and if your mother doesn’t like it she can go too.  They don’t matter.  We matter.  Us three and what we want.”

Nick sighed and put his head in his paws.  “And this was _Judy’s_ idea.  Judy, you’re pretty renowned for sometimes doing things to make others happy at your own expense.”

Judy’s ears darkened in a blush, but before she could speak Skye responded for her.  “Except…this wasn’t for you.”

Nick looked up at Skye with a slightly confused expression.

Skye smiled.  “Your nose does still work, doesn’t it?  She decided to pose this idea because, well….”

“I want Skye as much as you do,” finished Judy with a self-conscious grin.  “Nobody loses here, Nick.”

As if what his bunny said reminded him of what he was, his nose began wiggling as he sampled the air, the immediate space around Judy and Skye redolent with attraction, desire, their scents mingled with the other. It was like enjoying everything in life at only half of what it could be, like everything was turned down. Now all of a sudden volume was turned up and Nick wondered how he hadn’t detected it before. 

Nick believed them when they said that they’d talked earlier. But from what he was picking up from both Skye and Judy were any indication, there had been a bit more paws on communication than they’d alluded to. When his eyes went wide once more it was from surprise and he couldn’t help the almost leering grin that split his muzzle or the reaction of lower parts of his anatomy. He shook his head to clear it of the images that burst upon him before reaching up to place his paws over theirs. “And this is what you both want?” 

“Yes,” said both girls at the same time. 

“Now,” continued Judy, “get up and go eat your dinner.  Skye is going to do the dishes and when you’re finished eating we can run a bath for you.  I’m sure you need it after today.”

The girls helped him up.  Nick gave them a weak, uncertain smile as he crossed the room and took his plate up again.  As he ate, Skye did indeed begin cleaning the kitchen and Judy cleaned up the mess from Nick’s earlier spit take. 

As Nick ate, Skye watched him over the few dishes she had left from cleaning as she cooked earlier.  Nick had never quite been homeless—his mother had always supported him and he had had an apartment in the rainforest district for many years—but there were more times than not that his access to food was less than certain.  Thanks to that, and fueled by a poverty-stricken upbringing, he’d always had a tendency to eat very quickly indeed.  But now, he ate much more slowly, more measured, savoring the food rather than wolfing it down like a starving mammal. 

More and more she noticed how her friend had changed.

Soon enough, Nick finished eating and took a much deserved soak in the bath.  While he soaked Skye and Judy talked quietly, comparing stories about Nick.

Skye’s stories revolved around some of the shared anecdotes of her and Nick’s youth, perhaps his first foray into hustling when he hoarded candy gleaned from Harvest Night celebration. It was a childhood favorite with mammals of all kinds dressing in costume and going door-to-door to get candy with the implied threat of pranks. Nick held onto his loot, waiting a couple of weeks for other kits, cubs, pups and lambs to have eaten all theirs before selling his candy at substantial profit at school.

Judy spoke of their first meeting, thinking that he and Finnick were a father and son, and scamming not only the owner of Jumbeaux’s Ice Cream parlor, but the bunny herself. She then went on to tell of their less than amicable start before glossing over the hunt for missing mammals and the whole night howler debacle.

Some tales were sad, others so funny that both females had to hold their sides as tears leaked from their eyes and they gasped for breath. The swapping of stories came to a pleasant end when the red fox called out from the bathroom.

“You know I can hear you, right?” he asked, his tone indicating that he wasn’t mad and might have even been slightly amused by some of the information that the two shared.

“So?” Judy replied tartly as she bounced into the bathroom, a grin on her face that caused her eyes to sparkle merrily. “You can hear us. I thought you liked it when you were the center of a story.”

“Only when those stories extol my charm and virtues,” Nick replied with a smile that was completely relaxed and devoid of smug arrogance. If anything it was quite charming and open.

Skye sauntered in with an identical expression, her as of late serious expression softened by the twinkle of sapphire eyes. Nick felt that she truly had a lovely face that was made stunningly beautiful when she was happy. It was enough to cause his breath to catch as Nick saw them reach for the other’s paw, almost as if they’d been lovers for quite some time. Then bunny and vixen perched themselves on the edge of the tub. Their limited clothing and combined scents again reached him making Nick’s pulse speed up as he drank in two different but complimentary musks.

“Something wrong, Nicholas?” Skye asked archly, though her voice was soft, almost thrumming with a sultry edge to it as she let her attention slowly sweep over the immersed male in appreciation.

“Noth…nothing at all…” the red fox replied as his eyes closed slightly and he leaned forward with his nose wiggling a touch. As his eyes closed all the way he didn’t see the encouraging little nod from Judy.

With a hard swallow, Skye leaned down and forward as Nick continued to sniff at the air thick with steam, soap, but more importantly the scent of vixen and doe that made his lower stomach clench. She felt her oldest friend jerk slightly as their muzzles met and the flash of emerald eyes before their mouths opened and they tenderly licked at each other tentatively before each fox pressed deeper. Their tastes were similar but so different and as their tongues twined and rasped together, passing over the teeth of the other, exploring before playing for dominance and settling into an equal give and take, as if they were making love with their muzzles.

Nick and Skye had made out many times in the past, but this time there was something different about it, something that had been lacking before. As her paw came up to cup Nick’s cheek, her fingers and claws lightly trailing through the damp fur, it felt like she was really home for the first time since getting back.

Judy watched the two foxes kiss, her own chest tightening as the contact lingered and couldn’t help but add herself to the moment as Skye caressed Nick’s face by slipping her arms around the vixen’s middle and nuzzling her face against her back, the bunny’s paw finding the base of the arctic fox’s tail and playing with it. The reaction was immediate and Judy reacted to it by letting her other paw lightly brush through the fur of Skye’s flat tummy while Judy alternately squeezed and relaxed her strong legs in rising need. 

 

* * *

 

Nick and Skye finally parted, the vixen panting slightly with the kiss and the ever increasing dip of bunny paw that had slipped under her thin top and began to play with the waistband of her abbreviated shorts. The thin string of saliva that still connected her and the red fox stretched until they both let their tongues flick to lick it away at the same moment. They smiled at each other with their own building arousal and Nick shifted, not even bothering to hide his emerging foxhood as it started to peek out of his sheath.

“I think you need to get out so we can dry you off, brush you out and take this to the bed,” the vixen suggested with a low, sultry voice that continued to vibrate with a throaty purr that indicated her own building arousal. The growl turned into a small ‘Yip!’ as Judy’s paw slipped over her shorts and deep between her legs, Skye arching with the sudden pressure against her femininity and pressed into the warmth of the bunny paw. “Oh, Karma, Judy!” she hissed with a baring of teeth in a lascivious smile.

The bunny nuzzled even harder into the fox she held, going so far as to start rubbing her body up and down a little. “Can’t help it,” Judy answered breathlessly. “Told you I love foxes!”

Before it could turn into a free-for-all of wonton abandon right there on the tile floor of the bathroom, Nick stood, albeit on shaky legs, and plucked his towel from the rod next to the tub. He didn’t bother trying to conceal himself and smiled when both females turned their attention to his erection, bunny and vixen both smiling as they gazed at the proud display. He let them look for a moment more before tripping the drain and letting the water out before rubbing at his ears then draped it around his neck as he picked up a curved plastic blade and wicked most of the water from his fur, at least the places he could reach.

 “This is one of my favorite parts of bath time!” Judy said as she went for Nick’s tail and began to wring water from the appendage. “I love fox tails!”

“I can see that,” Skye said as she plucked the bath knife from Nick’s paws and took care of his shoulders and back before methodically getting his arms and legs. It wasn’t as in depth an investigation as she would’ve liked, but it was more than enough to hone the vixen’s growing appetites. It was easy to tell that Nick had taken to his occupation and spent time on keeping himself in top physical condition, his lean, muscled form, strong legs and arms those of a tod in his late teens or early twenties.

In short he was absolutely scrumptious!

Nick had always been lithe and attractive, but this was beyond his beauty in the past. Now he was the ideal fox, strong and virile, and perfectly endowed, with a healthy sheen to his fur that was luxurious and delectable!

Once most of the water was out of his coat, Judy and Skye all but pulled him to the stand-in fur dryer, each one brushing him while warm air enveloped his body so that by the time Judy turned off the unit even the outer guard hairs glowed and felt soft under the paws that ran over his body from both Skye and Judy.

Not even looking as she tossed the brushes into the basket that held the grooming supplies, Judy regarded the two foxes and grinned as she took their paws in hers, all but bouncing up and down as she caught her lower lip between her teeth. “C’mon! I think we need to finish this talk over on the bed!” she cajoled as she bounced in anticipation, her ears flushed.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Skye breathed before the bunny hauled both to the large sized bed with a squeal of eager joy.

Nick was set on the edge of the mattress as Judy and Skye slowly stepped closer, the bunny initiating the process of undressing as she took the vixen’s top in her paws, her eyes locked with the blue eyes of the fox that turned darker by the moment. She got the thin shirt up as high as she could reach before Skye leaned forward, letting the rabbit slip it off her body. Judy let it fall to the floor as she took in the gorgeous white furred form before her, Judy’s breath catching. Skye looked like an angel that a few different beliefs talked about, some otherworldly creature from mythology.  Even the scars crisscrossing her torso subtly parting the fur didn’t belie that impression, lending to it the feel of a battle-hardened archangel.

With paws that had started to tremble as she seemed to see the vixen for the first time, Judy reached for her shorts, slipping them down the hips that had started to fill out a touch from the constant diet of healthy food and the exercising that Skye had taken up with the other two. She then slid them down the long, lean legs, letting them drop as the vixen coaxed her up with gentle but firm paws on the bunny’s arms. Before Judy could do anything more than stand, Skye had her muzzle pressed to hers, the bunny swooning slightly as she opened her mouth at the fox’s insistent prodding with her tongue. When Skye twisted her head slightly and locked her fangs behind Judy’s teeth, something that only Nick had ever done with her. It left Judy open to the vixens probing tongue, the wide, warm flesh delving deep into her mouth and throat, feeling her teeth and tasting her while it was all the bunny could do to keep up, flitting against the vulpine exploring her in a tender but insistent manner. All Judy could do in response was grasp Skye tightly as she moaned into the predator’s muzzle, liking that for a fleeting moment that she felt like helpless prey.

Skye had to release the bunny as she pulled Judy’s shirt up, reining in her urge to simply shred the garment. As it was, the vixen wanted to take her time with undressing the doe, letting the anticipation build. After all, it wasn’t just for her. A glance towards the bed showed that Nick was watching with rapt fascination as he reclined against the pillows at the head of the bed, his paw idly playing with the bright red pillar of his erection and his mouth open in soft panting.

Smiling at her oldest friend before turning back to Judy, Skye knelt and ran a finger from each paw under the top of the bunny’s panties, one of the thongs that she’d bought for her, and slipped them down slowly, a fraction of an inch at a time while nuzzling the doe’s neck and face with tiny kisses and licks of her tongue. Ears were one of Judy’s most sensitive places and as Skye helped her out of the thong, she nibbled at the base before lipping and nibbling the long edge. Judy moaned in response, her whole body vibrating as her legs shook and her short puff of a tail twitched at the heat that flooded her loins.

It didn’t end there and Sky picked Judy up, one paw around her side with her claws lightly grazing the skin of the bunny’s back through her fur, the other holding the doe by cupping her firm cheeks while strong legs wrapped around the lean vixen’s body. Skye then graced the smaller mammal’s neck and throat with little nibbles and gentle bites interspersed with kisses and slow flicks of her tongue.

“Oh…!” Judy cried softly, throwing her head back to expose herself to the fox’s attentions. “Serendipity! That…that’s so good…!” she whimpered between chirring noises. Then the chirring turned into a thin mewl and panting as Skye’s thumb ran over the bunny’s damp nether lips, the vixen’s soft thumb pad brushing over Judy’s sensitive clit. Her legs straightened while her toes splayed wide and she tucked her head under the fox’s chin, holding on as she was stroked with infinite tenderness and expertise. “Oooooooh! Gods…! Skye!” she began to sob softly, the bunny’s hips twitching into the touch of the fox. “I…I-I-I’m-m cu…cumming…!”

The sobbing turned to whimpers and then short gasping panting as Judy rode out the orgasm that exploded through her with a wave of liquid warmth, her body releasing a trickle of doe-cum as she clutched Skye with desperate strength. She nuzzled into the embrace of the vixen as the white flash of climax faded in her eyes and the immediate heat of afterglow began to seep through her body, starting in the deepest part of her body and flowing through her, even to finger, toe and ear tips.

Skye held onto Judy as she calmed, whispering to her as she felt the bunny relax in her arms before turning and setting her on the bed, smiling as Judy curled up with a blissed-out look on her face, her eyes mere slits of dazed pleasure. She kissed the doe’s cheek and brushed her ears back with tender gentleness. “Catch your breath, little bunny,” Skye cooed with an affectionate nuzzle. “We have a long way to go.”

Judy could only giggle lightly in response as she drank in little gulps of air as the vixen crawled up on the bed, Her eyes, now a blue so deep that they almost looked black in the low light of the bedroom area, locked on Nick’s emerald ones and she made her way to him in a very predatory manner, stalking the fox that she had loved all her life and now found more than worthy.

The affection that Skye had craved for so long lay behind Nick’s eyes, similar to the way that Judy had looked at her just moments before, but subtly different. That they had both felt the love shared for so long but had to wait for the right time to express it just added to the poignancy of it all. When Nick’s paws took her and guided the vixen up next to him on the bed it was enough to send an electric thrill through Skye’s body, the shiver starting at her head and traveling all the way to her tail tip as she sighed with a sudden surge of emotion.

“I’ve waited so long…”

“I know,” the tod whispered back with a warm smile. 

There was no sign of the fox Nick had once been. There was no con-mammal, no hustler, no borderline scoff-law. There was just Nick and the fox she always knew was underneath. And as he pulled her close, his muzzle drawing close to hers, Skye felt apprehension take over. She’d been so brave in the face of danger, so unrelenting in her career as a ZIA asset…and now to tremble like a kit.

Love was so frightening and wonderful at the same time.

And there was no doubt. Skye was in love with both Nick and Judy.

When his paw stroked the side of her face, smoothing down her fur, it was enough to pull a soft whine from the vixen’s throat. And when his muzzle finally met hers and he played with her for dominance, eventually letting the kiss turn into a sharing of equals, that whine turned into a sigh. When his tongue slipped past her lips and teeth, caressing her with gentle passion, the sigh became a moan.

Neither parted, sharing their breath as paws began to roam of their own accord, reading the other through touch and petting, Nick’s slightly rounded claws trailing through the ruff at Skye’s throat, then her chest fur and down her tummy. When he drew close to her heated, aching mons she twitched her hips into his paw, the red fox veering off at the last moment, the denial drawing a plaintive whimper from Skye even as he shifted away as her own paw neared his turgid shaft.

“Slowly, Snowball,” Nick panted with a smile when they separated a little and drew in much needed air.

Before Skye could protest a shifting of weight on the bed drew her attention as Judy, now recovered, moved towards the pair, her look one of ultimate pleasure at seeing the two foxes twined together so intimately. “You’re so pretty together!” she exclaimed breathlessly before insinuating herself between Nick and Skye. 

The bunny paused, a wicked grin on her dainty muzzle as she reached out with one paw to grip Nick’s base, her fingers gripping him with gentle intensity before slowly working up and down his pillar of red flesh. Her other paw moved up the vixen’s thigh, her fingers working as if they were walking through the luxurious fur before stroking one of Skye’s warm, plump labia with a tender caress. The simultaneous touch of the bunny to both foxes elicited whines and growls of need and pleasure.

“Mmmm! And I thought I got wet,” Judy husked as her finger slipped over the seam of Skye’s most sacred place and came away with a glistening sheen of vixen juice. She looked pointedly at both before sticking the finger in her tiny muzzle where she slowly sucked and licked it clean. “Let’s see if we can’t return a favor.”

Skye could only blink, that simple little touch carrying her to the precipice of climax. When Judy parted the flesh of her vulpine opening, the flesh hot and swollen with desire, the vixen let her head fall back into the pillow beneath her head. When the bunny worked her way into Skye’s folds and then slid into her, stirring in her depths, the fox let out a stuttering cry of joy, a tremble shaking her entire form. “Judy…so good…” the vixen whined, squirming in an attempt to draw Judy further into her as her body fluttered and grasped at the finger inside her. “…more…please! More!” Skye pleaded before Nick restrained her with his own body, his teeth nipping at her neck and throat with tender lovebites.

As Judy slipped her finger in and out of the gorgeous, snowy white fox, smiling as she found those places of a female’s body that brought the most exquisite joy, she turned her attention to Nick and his own needs. Her tongue licked over her lips, mouth watering as she took the tod’s maleness into her, reveling in the sweet tangy flavor of his flesh, suckling on the end for a languorous moment before sliding slowly down the length. The bunny couldn’t help but smile as her mouth was filled at the simultaneous growling whines that came from the pair of lovely foxes. It was almost enough to make the doe cum again as she heard the vocal results of her attentions. She loved performing orally, finding something almost spiritual at all but literally consuming her predator lover and looked forward to discovering just what Skye tasted like. Not just the glazing that she licked off her finger, but from the tap, so to speak. Oral was a way for Judy to take a little of their essence into her, almost as if she were actually consuming their love.

Despite her musings, Judy was more than aware of what she was doing and swirled her finger within Skye’s channel, finding the magic place far inside of her, a steady increase of the vixen’s thick, warm cum covering her paw. As she worked on the vixen, Judy took Nick all the way down, bunnies quite capable of still breathing despite having her throat filled with fox flesh. The gentle growl from the red fox told her that she was having success in pleasuring Nick.

Judy tried to yelp when she felt paws lift her and spin her body without letting her ministrations to either vulpine suffer, then felt two different paws spread her legs wide. The only adjustment that the bunny had to make was which paw pleasured the vixen, her wet paw that had been tending to Skye now gripping Nick’s impressive foxhood, the other diving deep into the vixen’s well prepared opening.

There was no room for complaint as she breathed in through her nose even though she had a muzzle full of Nick, the scent of Skye heavy on her paw, sweet and musky and causing the bunny to roll her eyes in nearly kittish joy. Judy squealed when turned around and then felt a pair muzzles begin to explore her.

The two foxes glanced at each other with the same pleasure-dazed expression before they directed their attentions to the elegant looking bunny slit that lay before them, the manner her legs were parted pulling the doe’s sex slightly apart, the sweet with a slight hint of bitterness that was reminiscent of spring filled the sensitive noses of both vulpines making their mouths water. What followed was the most erotic kiss either ever shared, their tongues, instead of exploring just the other added Judy to it, caressing her, parting her lips to penetrate her body as they made love with their muzzles to the bunny.

Judy tasted even sweeter than she smelled, and Nick would withdraw as Skye plunged as far as she could inside, each one tenderly swabbing the bunny’s heated passage. Even as he shared the feast of rabbit with his oldest friend, Nick had to chuckle at the manner that Judy’s tail all but vibrated with the attention that she was getting. When Skye turned her eyes to him inquisitively he only winked at her, understanding lighting the vixen’s own blue eyes.

Time slipped away and failed to have any sort of meaning for the trio, The foxes pleasuring and being pleasured in return, while Judy, her competitive nature kicking in, struggled to bring her other two lovers to complete ecstasy before her own imminent climax. It wasn’t easy, though, as gentle nibbles, teeth grazing sensitive places, and tongues, warm and mind-shatteringly delightful stroked her deeply. It was a triumvirate of surrender and erotic bliss that seemed to last forever.

When Judy finally reached her limit it was all she could do not to pass out with the ravishing of her body. She felt orgasm build to critical pressure before Nick and Skye tipped her into the ultimate release. That pressure let go in a burst of light and heat as she felt a font of bunny cum all but pour from her, the foxes between her legs lapping her nearly dry as they drank down her juices and cleaned her fur. There was only a slight pause, Judy functioning on autopilot as she rode her orgasm to its completion leaving her in a pink tinged haze.

Skye was the next to go, her whole body convulsing as the bunny continued to stroke her deep inside while her thumb flicked against the sensitive little pearl of pleasure hidden within the fox’s luscious nether lips. The orgasm that gripped her lasted for several drawn out moments, Skye letting out a high, keening cry before she lost the ability to make any sound at all, rapture taking her to another place entirely.

Nick wasn’t far behind and the bunny felt the first twitch of his pelvis that told her he was close to his own release. Wanting to smile but unable to, Judy opened her jaw a little more, her rounded teeth softly scraping over the hot skin of his swollen knot as she took him all the way into her muzzle, gnawing lightly to add to the feeling of Nick being ensconced in her throat as the bunny tried to swallow him down.

“Judy!”

It was all the doe needed to hear and cupped Nick’s heavy sac, massaging his orbs as he gave into his climax, jet after jet of tod cum painting her throat as she swallowed down his gift, feeling it warm her tummy from the inside. It was the prefect dessert after a wonderful supper and Judy hummed with delight as she gladly accepted all her fox had to give her. Judy felt him start to flinch with the resultant oversensitivity that all males, regardless of their species, suffered from after orgasm and began to pull up, careful not to hurt Nick as she released his substantially decreased knot. The bunny paused to savor the flavor of the fox’s seed, rolling the thick cream over her tongue, swallowing it down with unbridled glee and sighed with Nick’s culmination, ending her tending to her lover with a soft kiss to the end of his length.

All three took a second before the foxes turned the bunny about, bringing her into a shared embrace, Nick and Skye using their tails to wrap the other two in a vulpine demonstration of deep affection and protection. The collective sigh of utmost satisfaction soon had all three giggling tiredly as they said nothing, anything that they might feel the need to give voice being spoken by touch and caress and simple closeness.

It was Nick that broke the comfortable silence, his baritone bringing both females out of the reverie that deeply satisfying intimacy provided.

“I love you,” he said, Judy and Skye looking at the red fox with completely open expressions and saw the single tear that slipped down his muzzle. “I love you both.”

That was all that was required for the bunny and vixen to swarm their mate and shower him with kisses and gentle nibbles of utmost affection.

Judy blinked her eyes open and found the arctic fox already sitting up from their little nap and smiled before also sitting up to kiss Skye passionately. “I think we’ve made the right choice,” the bunny said happily as she let her paws travel of their own accord over Skye’s body.

“Same here,” the vixen said as she marked the doe with her cheeks in a vulpine display, the scent telling any mammals with half a sense of smell that they were mated, her musk mixing well with Nick’s to make something truly unique that had the immediate effect of tumbling the rabbit emotionally. “But we’re not done.”

Judy pulled back a little. “We’re…?”

“We’re going to mate like foxes mate, Judy,” Nick said as he came around the screen separating the bedroom area from the rest of the studio apartment.

Judy looked at the red fox, already noticing that he was sporting a half emerged erection, her eyes taking on a delighted glow before widening in surprise as Skye held her tight and rolled them both over, the bunny on the bottom and looking up at the arctic fox who was smiling warmly. “And you get to go first,” the vixen said as her face lowered to kiss the bunny deeply.

So wrapped up in the lingering kiss, Judy was barely aware of the feel of Nick climbing up onto the bed. When she felt Skye’s lower body press against hers, their sexes pressing against each other and causing a jolt of pleasure, Judy instinctively spread her legs and wrapped them around the vixen’s hips. This had the effect of availing her to Nick who positioned himself and lined up his foxhood with his bunny’s streamlined labia. 

With an attempt to control his urges, the red fox worked himself into the wet heat of Judy’s opening. Despite their numerous interludes together, the initial penetration was always intense until the bunny relaxed, though there wasn’t a problem as Nick slid all the way into the doe and waited the span of a breath before beginning the rhythmic advance and retreat of his body within Judy’s, both sighing and moaning with the languorous lovemaking. For Nick, though, feeling Skye’s shapely rump pressed against his lower stomach, the heat of her sex making it past his fur only added to the sheer eroticism of the moment. While one paw slipped down to caress Judy’s hip and keep her in place due the energetic motion, the other wrapped around the base of Skye’s tail, his fingers stimulating the vixen’s violet gland.

Judy was in complete heaven as she was enjoyed by Nick and enjoyed him in turn while Skye pressed down upon her, nibbling and licking and kissing the bunny with fervor. When Judy’s climax stole upon her like a summer thunderstorm that struck with torrential force the bunny screamed her pleasure into the vixen’s muzzle, her eyes rolling back into her head. She was kept there with the forming of Nick’s knot, that vagary of fox anatomy keeping him locked within her depths until he, too, reached orgasm, filling her womb and channel with his potent seed and triggering a cascade of wanton excess that had the doe writhing and nearly screaming with the delectable abandon.

Judy was barely conscious when her lover subsided enough to finally exit her body without any discomfort to either of them and lay there, her legs splayed wide as she still convulsed and contracted in the afterglow of fantastic sex. Barely able to focus, Judy saw Nick admiring the rather lovely sight of her exposed body as she dripped copious amounts of the fox’s cream. With movements that made it look as if the doe were drunk, Judy clumsily lifted a paw to pet the vixen’s beautiful face. “Now it’s your turn,” she breathed, letting her arm fall to the rumpled bed.

Nick smiled lovingly as he gently moved the vixen to the necessary position and ran his paws through the fur of her lower back, rump and legs. Skye looked back over her shoulder and gave her friend a look that said is all. So many years of denial, so many lost opportunities, and now the moment where all she ever really wanted in life had finally arrived. It wasn’t Nick’s foxhood that touched her, though, but the cold tip of his nose a heartbeat before his tongue flicked out to part her flesh, tasting her readiness and the sweet musk of her most secret, sacred place. 

Skye’s back arched as she threw her head back and unconsciously let lose a soft, yipping cry, the fire in her loins craving the fox behind her, needing him to quench the fires that raged deep in her body. 

The first orgasm for the vixen was quick and caused her breath to hitch. The second lasted a little longer and stole just a little more of her connection to the world around her. Only when Skye experienced her third did Nick feel ready to make a dream they’d both had for so long come to fruition. The vixen was wet enough with her own juices that there was no discomfort at all as Nick slowly advanced into her depths, filling her in a way unlike any other male ever had, whether by choice or otherwise, and Skye nearly collapsed onto Judy as she began to weep with the sense of completion that filled her as much as Nick did.

“Shh,” Judy whispered as she scooted back and cradled the vixens face against her. “It’s okay, Skye,” the bunny continued, understanding what the other female felt. “Oh, honey, you’re home now. You’re home and we love you,” she continued, kissing away the fox’s tears as she stroked her triangular ears and neck.

Skye leaned into the doe’s paws for a moment before opening her eyes and took in the amethyst ones that sparkled so brightly with actual feeling and not just empty platitudes. They did love her and Skye…she loved them back. Carefully, so as not to accidentally clack their teeth together with Nick’s ministrations as he filled her over and over, Skye kissed Judy as passionately as she could before pushing the bunny back, much to the doe’s confusion until the arctic fox plunged her head between the grey furred thighs and proceeded to devour her with fervor. She loved the flavor of Nick and Judy’s combined tastes, relishing in the taste and wanting to roll in it. Then as her tongue slipped into the bunny to kiss Judy’s most special spot, teeth pressed softly into delicate female flesh, Skye made love to the bunny with her tongue and muzzle as Nick made love to her, all three once more locked into a circuit of shared bliss.

When Skye felt Nick swell, his knot sealing him within her body, it was all the vixen could do not to scream her joy to the world, fortunately what sound did escape was muffled with bunny, Judy squealing as the vixen clamped down with her jaws a little harder, but reveling in the sensation. 

“Skye…” Nick grunted after several more thrusts. “…gonna…cl…close…!”

The vixen refused to release Judy and simply whined her approval, one paw slithering down under her front to reach between her legs to fondle the red fox’s gravid sac. She massaged him as best she could, coaxing him to completion. Then she actually felt Nick swell with the first throb of his orgasm, her eyes closing as she focused on the feel of liquid heat filling her up. That heat spread and grew, some form of passionate alchemy turning it into her own culmination as she tightened her hold on the pillar of fox flesh inside her. It was enough to send Skye into convulsions of the greatest joy and ecstasy she had ever known. And those movements in turn brought the near constantly cumming Judy to her own climax, the release too much for her to handle as she let out a squeak and promptly passed out.

Skye wasn’t that far behind and gave in, letting orgasmic oblivion take her away.

 

* * *

 

Skye woke with the first light of the morning smudging the city outside the windows of the apartment and tried to move before giving in to the delectable soreness that wracked her body. It wasn’t the pain like she sometimes had from her old injuries, but something good and beautiful. Not that getting up would have been possible anyway with the grey bunny that lay snuggled into the hollow of her body, her paws wrapped around the vixen’s larger paws in a possessive manner. It was then that Skye realized she wasn’t asleep on the green couch that Nick would likely never part with, but the bed that the red fox and rabbit had shared.

The night before really had happened after all…

Not knowing how else to react to the memory of what had passed, of what had been shared, of the path she and Nick and Judy were on, Skye wept quietly until strong, steady paws gripped her from behind and someone warm pressed against her back. 

“It’s okay, Snowball,” Nick whispered, his scent and the sense of his presence soothing the vixen even though she continued to cry softly. “I’ve got you.” He snorted softly before nuzzling his nose into the juncture of her right ear. “ _W_ _e’ve_ got you.”

“Damn right we do,” Judy mumbled as she let go of Skye’s paws to roll over and embrace the arctic fox. “It’s okay. Nick made me cry the first time we made love, too.”

She was nuzzled by the odd but beautiful pair at the same time and that only made Skye sob a little louder as she pulled Judy tight against her with her left arm and reached back with her right for Nick. She held her mates…and that was what they all were, mates.

The warmth was comforting, reassuring and all that Skye ever thought it could be and more. She turned her head so that she could see both Nick and Judy.

“I’m home,” she told them as they tightened their holds to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that happened. First note: BOY THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER HUH??? I almost decided to split it into two chapters since the sex section was so long, but I decided otherwise partly because I like the idea of the story having a nice dozen chapters. Second note: While I obviously had a hand in deciding precisely _what_ went into the lovemaking, Selaxes wrote the entire thing. Which...is extremely fortunate because I'm terrible at it myself and he's oh so good :P
> 
> The story _could_ end here, but it's not going to. We have one more chapter to go, which will likely be fairly short, and it may be posted as soon as this morning sometime. Soon as I post this chapter I'll begin working on it, so if we're fortunate it'll be posted within the next twenty-four hours.
> 
> A quick note about the polyamory. I anticipated one reaction and one only when I came up with the idea for this story, and that was hostility. I wrote it anyway (with Selaxes' help because I'm a coward) because it's an emotional story I wanted told. Not to be too blunt, but any hostility due to the polyamory will be ignored. At least by me, I can't speak for Selaxes ;)
> 
> Now that I've seen more than a couple of you actively _pushing_ for it, though (which surprised the hell out of me, I love you guys!), I feel like I should also make it clear: the three-way was the original plan. Some might assume--and not without reason--that it went that way thanks to the "pressure" from the pro-Wilde/Skye/Hopps group, but truth is...I've always shipped Wilde/Skye/Hopps over Wildehopps _anyway_ , so...yeah. 
> 
> Anyway, I truly hope this penultimate chapter meets your approval. I'm so excited to finally post this chapter. Everything has been building to this. 
> 
> Once more, a quick thanks to AeonFeral. Without his friendship I never even would have had this idea to begin with, so if you've enjoyed this story send him a quick mental thanks. I daresay he'd think he doesn't really deserve it, but he do. He do. ;)
> 
> And of course....give Selaxes a _huge_ round of applause. He's put in so much time and effort into this story, and I simply cannot thank him enough. I've been thrilled to be working with him on this, and it's turned out so much better than I could have expected in my wildest dreams.
> 
> Lastly (yes, I'm a bit long-winded today, bear with me), a hearty thanks to you guys. Without your attention, your feedback, and your energy, this never would have made it all this way. You're all awesome.
> 
> One more chapter to go.


	12. Six Weeks Later

Emerald View Park by night had always fascinated Skylar Toklo.  It held a certain atmosphere of benevolence and peace, the lamp posts placed in intervals along the paths softly illuminating the park in lanes of diffused white light while leaving islands of quiet darkness between.  It was usually almost silent once the sun began setting, and that silence lent nicely to the atmosphere.

Today, however, one of the bigger open areas of the park had been taken over by chairs, stadium lights, and a stage.  Upon the stage were police officers of various ranks, and in the chairs were friends and families of those officers.  The sun was just beginning to set, and the vast majority of the officers there had been presented with various awards of merit and promotions, but two—the two very smallest—had yet to be acknowledged when the cape buffalo named Bogo took to the podium again.  Skye could see from her seat near the back that Bogo had begun to smile, something she’d learned in the last six weeks was as rare for him as rain in Sahara Square.  He spoke, his deep gravelly voice propagating through the crowd as much by its own virtue as by the microphone before him.

“Four years ago,” said the massive mammal, “Former Mayor Lionheart instituted his Mammal Inclusion Initiative, allowing traditionally non-police mammal species to apply to the ZPD.  I disagreed strongly with his decisions then.  Three years ago, we received our first graduate of the ZPA via the Mammal Inclusion Initiative and I still disagreed with the proposal.  I knew that the tiny officer would wash out…or worse, be killed on the job.

“I’ve never been so wrong.  Corporal Judith Hopps, our smallest officer, is perhaps the best officer in my precinct, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.  And today I’m pleased to present to her the Commendation for Integrity for her actions in the past month, bringing the notorious crime boss Scott Theodor Buchanan to justice after his many years of eluding our forces.  It’s thanks to Corporal Hopps that our streets are a little safer today.” 

While Judy stepped forward to receive the award, Skye couldn’t help but grin.  Nobody but her, Judy, and Nick truly knew how much of a role Skye played in providing the ZPD the ability to legally detain Scotty Crimson, and that was just as Skye wanted it to be.  Judy’s proud beaming smile, complete with uneven front teeth, was reward enough for her.

Then, Judy stepped back again and Bogo stood straight again, clearing his throat.  “Two years ago, I got word that another small mammal had graduated the Police Academy through the Mammal Inclusion Initiative.  When I found out it was a fox, I’m ashamed to admit I expected him to never even graduate.  When he proved me wrong by graduating at the top of his class, I found out just who it was.  The very same fox that showed me I was wrong about Judy Hopps was now a police officer.  Having learned my lesson, I immediately sent word to the Mayor’s Office, requesting that Officer Wilde be assigned to my personal team of officers at Precinct One.

“In the two years since then, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of watching Wilde grow into a capable and effective officer.  He’s proven himself more than once, and has even helped me to grow as a person through his refusal to accept bigotry and his stellar example on duty.  The ZPD is better for having him on board.  For his fantastic work as a law enforcement officer, for his devotion to helping not only civilians but his fellow officers as well, and for a sharp wit and keen insights freely shared, I hereby promote Nicholas Wilde to the rank of Corporal, with all the privileges and responsibilities that implies.”

The applause that followed as Nick stepped forward, the pride and delight clear on his face, was positively thunderous.  Skye joined it, her breath catching as she realized just how beloved Nick had become.  Only a couple years on the force and he’d touched so many.  After so many years of being mistreated simply because of being a fox, he’d turned around and made himself a shining example of what foxes everywhere could be, of what they could _do_ , and nobody here this evening saw him as anything short of the fox Skye had always known he would be. 

As the ceremony began to wrap up and Judy and Nick, paw in paw, descended the stage with their fellow officers, chatting animatedly, Skye wiped her face surreptitiously to hide the tears she’d allowed to escape.  Then she struggled to stand, but was interrupted by the male tiger next to her, who held his massive paw out to her.  She took it gratefully, letting him help her out of the overly large chair.  When she was finally on her feet and her loose sundress was righted, she smiled up at him with one paw on top of and one below her heavily pregnant belly. 

“Thanks,” smiled Skye.  “It’s tough sometimes, now that I’m as big as a whale.”

The tiger chuckled.  “No problem at all.  You’re one of the only foxes here; are you a friend of Nick’s?”

Skye nodded.  “Mmhm,” said Skye brightly.  “He’s the oldest friend I have, we grew up together.  He, Judy, and I live together.”

“Really?” replied the tiger with a smile.  “Well, you’ll have to come to our party next week.  My wife and I are having a Harvest Festival party with some of the guys from the precinct, and Judy and Nick are getting an invitation this evening.  Um, that’s my wife there.  Isabelle Fangmeyer.  She’ll be thrilled to meet you.”

Skye’s smile widened.  “I think I’d like that.  I’m Skye.”  She held her paw out, and the tiger took it gently in his, shaking it.

“Matthew Fangmeyer.”

By then, Judy and Nick had reached them, accompanied by a very pretty tigress whose nameplate said Fangmeyer, and who seemed very happy about her shiny new Lieutenant bars.  The tigress lightly kissed her husband as Skye tightly embraced both her mates at once, planting a quick kiss on each.

“Judy and Nick are coming next week,” said Lieutenant Fangmeyer, eyeing the white vixen curiously.  “Who’s your new friend?”

“Skye Toklo,” said Nick, putting an arm around Skye. 

“She’s a friend of Nick’s,” continued Matthew.  Then he stage whispered, “though I’d say more than a friend…but I’ve invited her too.  She seems nice.”

Judy snorted and shoved Matthew good-naturedly.  “We’ll bring the beer.”  Judy gave a look to Skye.  “And soda.  _Some_ mammals aren’t allowed alcohol for at least another couple weeks.  Anyway, it was good to see you, Matt.  Belle, congratulations!  See you guys later!”

The tigers said their goodbyes and joined paws, wandering off away from the crowd.  As they left, Nick turned to Skye, his friendly grin fading into a look of worry.  “How are we?  Okay?  Should you be standing?”

Skye and Judy rolled their eyes simultaneously.  “She’s _pregnant_ , Nick, not broken.  You worry too much.”

“I’m fine,” replied Skye with a chuckle.  She took one of their paws each in one of hers, and squeezed.  “I’m so proud of you two. I love you guys.”

“We love you too, Snowball,” sniffed Nick, blinking away emotion in his eyes that threatened to leak over. 

Judy pulled them both in the direction of the car.  “We definitely do.  Now come on, let’s go home.  I’m starving.” 

Skye let herself be pulled along, and when they got to the car she even let Nick fuss over her when they got in the vehicle, and then finally they were on their way home as the last of the sunlight died on the horizon.  Skye gazed back at the park as they pulled away and she sighed in contentment. 

She’d found what she’d been searching for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this story. I hope you guys have enjoyed this as much as we have! I won't say what we have planned going forward, but...stay tuned :)


End file.
